


RNBY: Volume One

by Vicky_Omega



Series: RNBY - Heroes of Remnant [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Autistic Ruby Rose (RWBY), Bullying, Comedy, Developing Friendships, F/F, F/M, Gen, Humor, M/M, Multi, No Ships Confirmed Yet (Until Volume 2), Protective Siblings, Rule 63, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Volume 1 (RWBY), Wolf Faunus Ruby Rose (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27011218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vicky_Omega/pseuds/Vicky_Omega
Summary: When a simple soul like Ruben Rose is offered a place at the infamous monster hunter school, Beacon Academy - a whole two years early - how on Remnant could he say no?With his friends, sister and Weiss ("Hey!") by his side and an oversized gardening tool in hand; he faces terrorists, bullies, racism, sassy criminals, corrupt organisations, having the lives of three angsty teenagers in his hands, and of course - school work. Oh, and he's training to protect Humanity from the living incarnations of negative emotions.One thing is for certain: Ruben's in for one Hell of a first semester!
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Adam Taurus, Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna & Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc & Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc & Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie, Neopolitan & Roman Torchwick, Pyrrha Nikos & Ruby Rose, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee & Yang Xiao Long
Series: RNBY - Heroes of Remnant [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937446
Comments: 69
Kudos: 32





	1. Ruben Rose

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [RPBY](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15707589) by [Gardegrimm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gardegrimm/pseuds/Gardegrimm). 
  * Inspired by [PWRY Volume 1](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26757970) by [OniRinku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OniRinku/pseuds/OniRinku). 



* * *

##  **VALE: DOWNTOWN - Hunter's Corner**

##  **November 14TH, 2020 – ½** MOON SHATTER 

* * *

The evening’s dark settled over the Kingdom of Vale. Golden lights sprung up across the continent, but the abundance of light didn’t stop civilians from cowering into the shadows.

The source of their fear?

Notorious criminal and Hunter evader, Roman Oliver Torchwick. He owned swagger - it rolled off him in waves and flashed in every stride he took. He flourished his cane after smoking his cigar, smirking at the flinches of the citizenry. Roman tipped his hat to the people that cleared from his path, his cocky grin spreading. Call it what you will: confidence or vanity - the ginger clarified that getting in his way was brave or stupid.

_Mostly_ just stupid. Many police officers in the ICU could attest to that. The dead ones… not so much.

Men dressed in black suits and sunglasses (at night?) followed him, nowhere near as ominous as their pack leader. It was the shades. They looked silly wearing shades at night.

Silver eyes studied Roman and his posse from a distance. Despite the air of terror that trailed the criminal, the owner of the silver eyes strolled towards the group, headphones on and his arms swinging.

* * *

“Welcome to Dust ‘Till Dawn, gentlemen!”

After a glance, Torchwick smirked at the elderly shopkeeper.

“Punny.”

The shopkeeper shook his head and sighed, “I lost a bet to one of my ex-employees; she thought it would be hilarious and it stuck.”

Roman chuckled, and the man continued, “Is there anything you need?” He gestured to the glass counter, “We’ve got many Dust crystals here – refined and uncut,” He pointed to grey tubes hung on the shop walls, “We have powdered Dust in those; but understand, it’s going to cost you more Lien than usual.”

Torchwick’s green eyes glinted with mischief and he popped his trench coat collar. He lent over to read the shopkeeper’s name tag.

“Is that so, Mr Custos?”

“Aye, lots of Dust robberies in the past five years – even the Schnees are feeling the heat; but don’t fret, everything else has the same prices as before.”

The dark-suited men kept quiet during the exchange. Custos struggled to see what they were doing without his glasses, so he ducked under the counter to find them. Roman beckoned two of his mooks over and they placed two large crates on the counter. The others rested the hands on their weapons.

“Well, sir!” Roman dowsed his cigar under his boot, “As interesting as that is, I’m afraid we’re going to have to-”

“Hello, Mr Custos!”

Perking up (without his spectacles) Custos beamed at the familiar blur of blacks, reds and silvers on a short figure and his high-pitched voice.

“Ruben! It’s good to see you, Pup – your sister already finished her shift.”

Ruben barged past the miffed criminal and leaned on the counter – his wolf ears twitching. He waved his gloved hand, “That’s fine, I’ve come to collect… _the cargo.”_

Holding back a laugh at the secretive tone of his favourite customer, the elderly man nodded, “It’s in the back and _The Grimm Reaper: Volume 6, Chapter 1_ has just come in.”

“Do you think Maria will tell her Papa about her Platinum Eyes?” Rose gasped.

“At this point pup, I feel like you read that junk just to torture yourself, _especially_ after the last volume.”

“You gotta have hope!” The wolf Faunus whined, “You know it can get good… when the writer is bothered.”

“I’m thinking she can’t be anymore, all the good bits are just accidental.”

Roman coughed, glaring at the two.

“Sorry about Ruben here, he forgets his manners sometimes.”

The boy sniffed, sized up the white-coated criminal and walked into the backroom.

“I can tell.” The ginger hummed, amused.

Fishing out his glasses, the old man faced his customers.

“So, where were…”

Two guns, three swords and a smiling crook met him in kind.

“Oh.”

* * *

**_‘They see you as small and helpless; they see you as just a child. Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild!’_ **

Headphones blasting, Rose emerged from the storage room loading up a magazine with rubber bullets. His dark, thick locks bounced to the beat of the song. His Faunus ears noted the macabre silence at the storefront.

_‘Relax, I’m sure he’s fine.’_

He picked up The Grimm Reaper comic, trying his best not to whip Crescent Rose out and find the danger – if there was any. Shoes scuffed the ground, but Ruben couldn’t pinpoint where. The footfalls sped up and edged closer towards him.

_‘Maybe I should take off my headsets-’_

A blade pressed against his throat.

“For your own good, kid, I suggest you give me your valuables.”

Rose looked at the weapon, then at the man.

“Are you… threatening me?”

The shades stared back at him.

“I-Is it not obvious? I’m literally – I mean, I…”

One of Rose’s cherry-black ears lay flat on his head and the other stood to attention, confused. The thief’s nerve almost crumbled at the cute display. Ruben remained clueless.

“If you want the comic, you could just ask; there are tons to spare.”

“This isn’t about a dumb comic!” the thief grabbed the hood of the teen’s cloak, “This is a robbery, and it starts with me taking this!”

He noticed the other wolf's ear pressing against his victim’s skull, as tense as its twin. Silver orbs became steel; dark eyebrows furrowed in a slow, dangerous manner and his jaw locked tight. When moondust eyes glared at him with the fury of the Gods, the thief wondered if he picked the right profession. The teen’s lips parted to whisper two words:

“I see.”

* * *

Roman’s green eyes wandered over his hired men carrying out the heist. When he peered at Mr Custos – his form a mix of frozen and shaking - a twinge of sympathy stroked his heart. He suppressed it, knowing that this heist isn’t optional - with half a goddess as his employer, playing with fire wouldn't be wise. A commotion kicked up where one of his goons stormed over. Feet shuffled, grunts echoed, and a few muffled words later, a blur of red and black stormed through the storefront and out the window. 

Ruben, unaware of his audience, kicked his attacker in the head.

“How _dare_ you steal from people - do you understand how rude that is?” he pointed a finger at the unconscious gentleman, “If you want something you pay for it, like everyone else, you horrible, _horrible_ man – Dishonour upon ye!”

Giving him one more kick, the boy turned to the others. His face scrunched up, filled with guilt and determination and he pulled Crescent Rose off her holster and extended her into Full Bloom mode. The scythe spun in her master’s grip as a red and black blur before slamming into the tarmac, the nozzle pointed at Roman’s chest. Ruben pulled off his headset as a silver sheen of light encompassed him, his Aura engaged for a fight.

“Try and take my cloak again, just watch, I’ll cut you!”

A wide-eyed (and a bit intimidated) Roman pursed his lips.

“Okay…” he waved his cane in Ruben’s direction, “Get him.”

One idiot tried jumping through the broken window, but tripped over the shards of glass, knocking himself out. The others ran out the door, as hey should. Roman backed away to take the Dust, Custos watched him do so but knew better to stop him. Instead, he focused on the child, taking on grown men with an oversized gardening tool.

Percussion instruments in Rubens mind awakened. The battle drew near with every step his opponents took. The orchestra kicked in as he dodged the katana swipe. Using his scythe as leverage, he roundhouse kicked a goon in the face. The momentum threw him forwards and his enemies surrounded him.

All combatants studied each other. A violin stung and the fight resumed.

Another mook behind Ruben ran towards him. Wolf's ears picked up the movement, a guitar rift joined the fray, and Ruben pulled the trigger. The recoil spun him round and flung the crook in the air. Ruben kept the spin going and slammed another into the ground.

One man remained.

Live machine gun rounds fired at Ruben, but the youngster dashed across the ‘arena’, leaving rose petals in his wake. The recoil of Crescent Rose propelled the Faunus towards the gunman and the boy swiped the man’s feet, sending him soaring. As he slid, he dug the tip of CR into the ground, swinging himself skyward. Airborne, Ruben slammed the blunt side of his scythe into the thief. The man crashed before Roman’s shined shoes. Torchwick cringed as he held a box full of Fire and Magma Dust.

“You were worth every cent, truly you were.” He corrected his ascot, “Well, Red, this has been quite the eventful evening and as much as I’d _love_ to stick around…”

He pointed his cane at the child.

“I’m afraid this-” a crosshair popped out above the cane’s nozzle, “Is where we part ways.”

Ruben tried to switch Crescent Rose back into a sword, but the Dust covered bullet struck him in the chest, exploding upon impact. Flying for a few feet, the Faunus inhaled hard when he stopped rolling across the tarmac.

_‘I should really start wearing undershirts.’_

His gloved hand massaged the scorched waistcoat, and he frowned.

“Ow.”

Shambling towards the shop, the boy ignored the incapacitated crooks, finding his friend's health to be a more pressing issue.

“Mr Custos!” He saw the senior sit, shaken by the embezzlement, “Are you alright?”

Store alarms rang through the night sky. The elder’s skin was ashen and sweaty, but he flapped away from his friend’s worry.

“I’ll be fine, Pup, skedaddle before the Bobbies come and get the wrong idea…” His watery eyes studied Rose’s slight build and the unconscious men outside, “Go kick that scoundrel’s ass for me!”

A wrinkled finger marked to a ginger chap hauling up the crate of stolen Dust up a fire escape. With a grin, the boy chased after Roman, running between pedestrians that inspected the scene of the robbery. He tumbled into an alleyway, his black knee-high boots splashed puddles and kicked takeout boxes. Crescent Rose in rifle mode and launched himself upwards.

* * *

“For Ozma’s sake, where is she?”

Roman’s scoured the alleyway and the skies for an aircraft before he heard:

“Hey – I agreed to kick your ass and you still haven’t paid for that!

Torchwick laughed.

“You’re persistent, Red, I’ll give that,” He eyed Ruben’s slender stature, “But I don’t think you could handle such a… _tall order?”_

Ruben peeked down at himself and realised what he meant.

“You dishonourable cretin – there is no shame in being vertically challenged!”

“Is that what you call it?” Roman picked up on the engines of an airship get closer, “Most people call it 'short'.”

One button pressed, and the rifle shifted into a sword. But before the boy could take a step, blaring spotlights blinded him. Torchwick climbed onto a one-seater Bulkhead. They blacked the cockpit out and the craft itself was barebones. The entire vehicle appeared like a half-done job. When the Faunus’ eyes adjusted to the scathing light, Roman had chucked a Fire Dust crystal at his feet.

“End of the line, Red!”

Cackling, the criminal squeezed the trigger on his cane. An instant later, there was a blinding flash, like sheet-lightning, and an enormous ball of varicoloured fire belched upward, leaving a series of gas-rings to float after it. The smoke cleared and Ruben’s Aura flickered. The boy’s toned arms wobbled under his weight – the power of the crystal weakening him. Torchwick grimaced but aimed.

He pulled the trigger one last time

As it flew out of the chamber, the bullet aims dived for its target. Until the projectile had suddenly been blocked by a… purple glyph? A middle-aged blonde stopped in front of Ruben. Graceful and poised, the woman stared at the chopper without a hint of fear. The artificial wind blew back her black-purple cape, rippled through her clothes and styled hair. The wolf was in awe.

_‘A real Huntress saved my life!’_

And she stood firm, ready to do her duty. She flicked her riding crop, pulling out a yellow, green and blue crystal. Purple energy guided them to slam together above the Bulkhead. Black clouds sprawl over the vehicle. The air grew heavy, and the humidity pressed down, suffocating. A stillness fell over the street, and in the silence came a low crackle of thunder, rolling across rooftops. For a second, everything stopped. Even the wind holds its breath. A streak of hot silver split the sky, and a downpour of ice struck the machine. Roman stumbled into the cockpit, and a feminine figure replaced him. They wore glass shoes, a thigh-high red dress with a gold and black trim. Their eyes were a hellish amber that blazed like an ember in the shadows of the cargo hold.

She stared the figure down.

The cuffs of the clothing ignited, and its sleeves lit up. The figure swiped a palm down their arms and shot a fireball towards the blonde. A quick block decimated the projectile. However, the cinders scattered around her lit – the person raised a fist and a pillar of flames surged beneath her. Debris damaged the ground, but the Huntress used her Semblance to command the rubble. A series of rapid attacks battered the chopper before the character scorched the debris to ash.

Deciding he’s done enough gawking, Ruben aimed Crescent Rose at the attacker and fired a few shots. Each one stopped with a raised palm. Five more pillars surged under the two on the roof. He felt an invisible force shove him out of range of the explosions as the Huntress backflipped. By the time the two recovered, the criminals had escaped. Moments pass filled with the sound of aircraft engines zooming off With noise fading to nothing, Rose continued to gape at the woman.

“You’re a Huntress.”

The blonde scrutinised him with her stern green eyes.

“Can I have your autograph?”

Before she could reply, a police officer arrived at the scene, while the alarm from the Dust shop stopped. He noticed the Faunus next to the Huntress and pulled out his gun. She waved him off.

“There’s no need for that, the ones responsible have escaped – he tried to apprehend them.”

Wary, the officer lowered his firearm. Ruben perked up.

“Oh, there’s a group of thieves in front of Mr Custos’ store; they’re knocked out but-”

“We found them, thanks, kid.”

The man glared at the Fire Escape and sighed. The duo watched him grumble down the steps.

“So…”

The blonde considered the boy.

“Can I get that autograph now?”

* * *

“A ‘No’ would have been fine.”

“I think your activities tonight are a more pressing matter, young man.”

The woman, Glynda Goodwitch, paced before him Her tone carried disappointment that caused his canine ears to flop, while he kept wary of the riding crop in her grip.

After the fight, she took him to a café owned by a Beacon Academy alumni, Apollo, and his husband, Darcel. For some strange reason, they owned an Interrogation Room – spotlight and all - in their basement. He wanted to question it, but Glynda hurried him along. It was horrendously dark inside, and the metallic surface of the bench made the blinding effect of the lamp worse. The metal chair was uncomfortable, and the condescending note in Glynda’s voice ruined his rather exciting night.

“Shooting firearms in a civilian area,” she continued, “Apprehending criminals without a Hunter’s License instead of calling the authorities, and chasing a known killer then almost dying yourself in the process – do you understand the severity of your actions?”

Over his gloves, Rose fiddled with his hands. The urge to pull his hood on tugged at his nerve.

“I’m sorry, Ms Goodwitch, but I couldn’t do nothing – I had to protect Mr Custos!”

His defiance flopped when he hid from the scrutinising stare of Beacon Academy's Vice-Principal. Suddenly, his fiddling leather fingers had become interesting.

“And they started it.”

The blonde sighed, putting her Scroll Pad down to focus on him, “Your father will be notified of this and you’ll be sent home with a pat on the back…” Ruben’s ears perked up, if he had a tail, it would wag. Glynda went on. “and a slap on the wrist!”

The Disciplinarian slammed on the table. Ruben was sure his heart bumped into his lung out of pure shock.

“But there’s someone who would like to meet you.”

From the shadows, a tall figure emerged. His shaggy white hair glimmered in the strobe light in contrast to his prim and proper green suit. His small shades hung on the bridge of his pale nose and his brown eyes maintained a permanent, all-knowing sass. In one hand he bore a mug, the other held a plate of cookies.

_‘I can’t believe my luck – Willis Ozpin is standing right in front of me!’_

“Ruben Rose.”

The cookies slid over to Ruben. Rose’s muscles twitched and tensed in pitiful attempts to resist the lure of the treats. One was already being swallowed before he realised he even picked it up. Ozpin analysed the boy, his brow creased at the rare sight before him, “You have… silver eyes.”

Ruben heard the murmur and replied.

“And you have brown ones.”

A grin appeared on the pale face.

“Indeed – now, I’ve seen the CCTV footage of your fight with those men and I wondered where you gained your skills.”

“S-Signal Academy, sir!” Ruben wiped the crumbs off his face, his ears perked up.

“They taught you to use one of the most complex weapons ever designed?”

“Yeah, my Uncle Qrow took me under his wing; before that, I was utter garbage, but now, I’m taking down Fledgling hordes without a scratch!”

Both adults raised an eyebrow at his boast. The pride in Ruben’s chest deflated when he realised he couldn’t believe the lie himself.

“Kind of, I guess.”

“Why is a young fellow like yourself doing fighting Grimm?” Ozpin’s smile grew.

Fidgeting in his spot, Rose eagerly explained: “I want to be a Huntsman.”

“You wish to slay monsters?”

“Not just that – I’ve always wanted to save people, and I was good at making weapons; although I thought would be my sister’s tech guy; but I unlocked my Aura and Semblance, I knew it was my destiny was to be a Huntsman.”

A thoughtful expression fell over the man’s face as he leaned backwards. 

“Save lives…” the Head Teacher hummed, “That is a difficult dream to dedicate yourself to, Mr Rose. Many don’t bother to help each other nowadays – why do you want to dedicate your short life to what most consider to be a fruitless endeavour?”

Glynda’s focus on her tablet wavered as she followed the conversation. Ruben’s bright eyes studied the man in front of him – putting _him_ on edge.

“I need a reason to help people?”

Willis leaned on the desk, “Reasons like fame or glory – nothing of the sort gives you drive?”

Not a second passes before a simple “Nope!” bounced off the walls.

Now Ozpin grinned, a light flaring up in his eyes.

“Do you know who I am?”

“You’re Willis Ozpin – the youngest Headmaster in Beacon’s history with several… aco- aca-“

“Accolades?” Glynda offered. Ruben pointed a finger at her to confirm.

“So, you’ve researched me and my school.”

“Yep, my sister is going there this year, and I’m going to follow in her footsteps – I made sure I learned everything possible.”

Sipping his hot chocolate, the light and mischief brightening, Oz asked,

“If I were to invite you to join my school - in secret, of course - what would you...”

“Yes, please!”

“Are you sure, Ruben?” Oz laughed, “Beacon Academy is no Combat School – we are training Mankind’s future protectors not teaching measly self-defence classes and weapons arts.”

“And I’ll do everything to be worthy, I promise!”

Oz turned to his second in command, with pleading puppy eyes. Innocently, Ruben did the same. She rolled her eyes at Oz’s antics but she didn’t protest. Willis chuckled and turned to the teenager.

“Well, alright then.” He handed over an envelope, the Kingdom of Vale/Beacon Academy emblem waxed on top. It shook in Ruben’s hands and the boy’s eyes and the smile widened as he held his golden ticket.

* * *

##  **VALE: AIRSPACE- Bulkhead to Beacon Academy**

##  **NOVEMBER 15th, 2020 – ½** MOON SHATTER 

* * *

“Ruben, I am so proud of you!”

Yang’s hugs were always intense, but the sound of bones cracking around his spine worried him. That and oxygen grew scarce.

“I… need… to… _breathe!”_

She dropped him, holding him steady as his body tried to resupply the brain with blood.

“Why didn’t you say anything yesterday?”

He stood on his own and explained: “I wanted to surprise you, besides; Professor Ozpin said it this had to remain a secret, the Hunter's wouldn’t approve of a fifteen-year-old getting their Hunting License early – so as far as anyone is concerned, I’m an average kid and we were born months apart.”

Yang held a deadpan expression, then giggled, “That would make Dad a two-timing cheater.” 

Finger raised to counter, but Ruben realised that Taiyang would look bad no matter what in that scenario.

“Besides,” the blonde continued, “You don’t look seventeen.”

“What are you implying?”

“You’re…" Yang made shrinking gestures with her thumb and finger. Ruben’s glare intensified, "Never mind, you can’t pull off the average person shtick, that’s a fact.”

Rose wanted to pull his hood on as he whimpered. His big sister wrapped her arm around him.

“Why?”

“Because you _are_ special…” She held him in a chokehold and noogied him, mindful of his extra ears. Her smile widened at his giggles and pleads for mercy, “You’re special to me!”

Their roughhousing ended when a chime rang through the airship. A hologram of the Vice-Principal emerged right after.

“Hello and welcome to Beacon.”

“Who’s that?” Yang asked.

“My name is Glynda Goodwitch.”

“Oh.”

“You are among the privileged few who have been selected to attend this prestigious academy; our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses; it is your duty to uphold it.”

Chest puffed out and head raised high, Ruben beamed at the message as a part of him felt like it spoke to him directly.

“You have shown the courage needed for such a task and now it’s our turn to give you the knowledge and the training to protect our world.”

The image faded away and the views of the city of Vale came into focus. Smothering his face on the window, Rose awed over the incredible sights of historical buildings standing beside the modern skyscrapers and the river that flowed by the High Parliament Palace. Xiao Long smiled at her brother’s excitement as she joined him by the window.

“You can see Signal from up here – home isn’t as far as I thought!”

The elder sibling put her hand on his shoulder, “Beacon’s our home now, it’ll take a while to get used to it, but I think we’ll manage.”

“Right!”

Groaning sounds caught their attention – a blonde male held his mouth and stomach, stumbling towards the airship toilet. Grumbles of disgust resounded around the ship. It seemed he left a bit of his… issue on the floor. Ruben scrunched up his nose and cursed his heightened Faunus senses. Yang’s grimaced but kept cheerful.

“That’s disgusting, but on the upside - we’re almost there!”

“Sis, there’s vomit on your shoe.”

“What?!”

“I guess this is a rather _stomach-turning_ situation.”

Yang glared at Ruben’s smug face and wiggling canine ears.

“You’re lucky I raised you.”


	2. Welcome To Beacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Xiao Long-Roses arrive on the prestigious grounds of Beacon Academy and things are already looking to be difficult. They haven't even been there for a day yet!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHANGES: My OC, Victoria, is gone. She's still Yang's friend but she isn't attending Beacon anymore. NOw she goes to Shade Academy in Vacuo. She's gonna be important later.

* * *

##  **VALE: BEACON ACADEMY- Landing Pad**

##  **NOVEMBER 15th (Morning), 2020 –** ¾ MOON SHATTER

* * *

_“Good morning Vale, I’m Lisa Lavender, your host for this morning’s report. Today I am joined by Evan Green, member of the High Parliament, and we’ll be discussing the events of the White Fang’s disruption of the Atlesian-Mistrali Alliance Celebrations. Jamie Cromwell explains in this report.”_

_Lisa’s face changes to a film of the White Fang as a voice talks on top._

_“The White Fang: once freedom fighters, now, political terrorists. Over the past 5 years, the Fang have increased their militancy, giving up on their former leader’s values. After three mine cave-ins, explosions and gas attacks because of the poor Health & Safety in Atlesian Dust mines, resulting in 21,000 deaths, White Fang recruitment had spiked by 35% and support continues to grow. In Mistral, Faunus unemployment has reached its peak at 45% with business owners outright refusing to employ Faunus – Fang recruitment has increased there in response too. Race relations worsen by the day in the eastern and northern hemisphere. Is the Fang right to become more violent for the sake of change?”_

_A video of Sienna Khan with Adam Taurus disrupting an elite party, with varying cultures from Northern and Southern Mistral and Atlas, replaces the footage. Anger roared in Sienna’s amber orbs, her chains glinting in the limelight. Adam, but stood stoic, his hand resting on his blade, Wilt, a silent threat for any that stepped closer. The red accents on his black clothes and his hair were already glowing._

_“I waited years for the day that I would stand in front of the Rich and Powerful members of the greatest slaver nations in the world.”_

_Sienna stood on a stage, the image of a Queen and a proud leader._

_“And it’s taking all my willpower not to cut you down where you all stand!”_

_Guest shuffled back, terror rising the air._

_“But my predecessor taught me you must try to extend the hand of peace before you raise the hand that calls for war – I am giving you that chance now: The Faunus of your nations will be given reparations for the crimes of your ancestors and the profit you gain from them – whether that be money, integration programs, job opportunities, improvements in existing workplaces, making Menagerie more habitable – it will be planned within 3 month time and executed 3 months afterwards!”_

_Shouts of outrage flew towards the High Leader of the Fang. Silence regained its presence when Adam flashed his Katana._

_“Understand, the knife that your ancestors placed in our backs can’t be removed if you don’t acknowledge that it’s there, reparations will take it out and forgiveness will heal the wound.”_

_Adam, who stood eerily silent before, stepped next to his leader. Eye hidden behind the mask of a monster, his mouth was the only way to determine his mood._

_“Vale, Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo; may your leaders know this: The White Fang is done playing – there_ **_will_ ** _be consequences for ignoring our warning,”_ _He turned towards Jacques Schnee; voice poisoned with spite,_ _“The Schnee Dust Company know this well, we do not fear your power, not when the existence of a whole race is at stake – heed this threat or we will hunt you down like the animals you think we are.”_

_The feed ended with the screams of the guests as Adam shot the chandelier, causing it to crash into the ground. Panning back to the studio, Lisa and Evan sat quietly for a moment. Anxiousness hung in the air as Lisa began her interview._

_“Well, you heard it from High Leader Khan and Commander Taurus of the Vale Division – what do you think Evan?”_

_He scratched his stubble as his eyes glossed over the room. He began with a weary chuckle._

_“I miss Ghira, I can say that much – but Sienna is right, the situation in Atlas and Mistral has been going on too long, but now it's bleeding into our society, it’s making our Kingdom an enemy of the Fang; of the Faunus. The Mistralians and Atlesians are fine with that, but we Valeians can’t be.”_

_“Are you worried that the Fang would escalate in their methods?”_

_“I don’t see how it can get worse than inflating the economy or kidnapping officials and board members, and that’s just Atlas!”_

_“I wouldn’t say that; there are a lot of ways things could get worse, but more importantly, how do you think this will this affect ordinary Faunus in Vale?”_

_“They will suffer, they already do – I’ve seen ‘No Faunus’ signs outside Dust stores on my way to work and that will no doubt spread to other shops too, the Fang are so busy fighting the other two Kingdoms, they neglect their community duties in the Ghettos. Atlas and Mistral are infecting our nation with their problems and now everyone is suffering for it – I can’t say I feel bad for them, it’s been a long time coming.”_

_“And I am sure there are many who agree with you, but let’s hope for a good ending for all of this.”_

* * *

The hologram fizzled out as the Bulkhead prepped its landing gear. Golden eyes gazed at where the news report disappeared. His Captain’s cap had shrouded his appearance, a different shadow cast over him - one over his mind. He doubted anyone felt the grief he did until he saw a cherry-black haired Faunus and blonde human that had downcast expressions. Supportive, the human girl rubbed the Faunus on the back. They looked alike, same button noses, lip shapes, etc.

But a human having a child with a Faunus was too… _strange_ of a concept.

_‘They’re probably close friends.’_

Once the airship landed, he was among the first to leave.

* * *

Awe overwhelmed the Xiao Long-Rose siblings. Beacon Academy was a monolithic castle that towered into the heavens. The main spire - The Cross Continental Transmit System - providing the opportunity to commune with the world. Fountains, stylish lamp posts that double as flagpoles, spring red trees and decorative arches littered the massive courtyard. Large green spaces that the older year groups sat on were plastered everywhere and didn’t clash with the grey, polished concrete. Sunbeams enhanced the stunning image of the campus, completed by the incredible cliffs and thundering waterfalls near the Landing Pads. Students ran over the open space – embracing their new lives at the school ripped straight from a fairytale.

“Great Vallan…” Yang hummed, “The view of Vale’s got nothing on this!”

Her shiny locks shook as she tried to get her lilac eyes to see everything. Ruben’s silver pair drew away from the mystical wonder, suddenly aware of the enormous mass of students near him. His fingers itched, closing and opening; breaths came in short harsh bursts and eyes moved in frantic motions. Metal shone in the sunlight and his mind replaced the daunting feelings swirling inside with logic and passion.

“Sis, that kid has a collapsible staff!”

Yang looked at her brother. She knew what he was doing, but she didn’t stop him.

_‘I hope I packed his stimulants… and I should have those Heat pills too now that I think about it.’_

She came back to the present when she noticed Ruben getting into a stranger’s personal space.

“Your fire sword is amazing; how did you figure out the calibrations to support a constant supply of _– Woah!”_

Smiling apologetically at the spooked initiate, Xiao Long pulled her brother by the hood back to their spot, “Pup, personal space is important – you can’t just get up a stranger’s face like that; besides, it’s just a weapon.”

Ruben’s faced scrunched up and Yang cursed her big mouth.

_‘Here we go…’_

“How could you say such a dishonourable thing?”

“I didn’t mean-”

He raised a hand to her face, shaking his head. His ears fluttered, “Weapons are the extensions of our souls, our closest friend, our one true partner - they deserve our respect, you know why?”

Yang held a blank expression. She had received this lecture before when they made Ember Celica and she damaged them on her first go. But her brother expected an answer, so she sighed:

“No, why?”

“Because they are awesome, that’s why!”

“So why don’t you swoon over your weapon, aren’t you happy with it?”

In a flash, Ruben cuddled his triple-shift-scythe as tight as he could. More kids passing by stared at the odd display, speeding up to avoid the duo.

Or… trio?

“Crescent Rose is my baby, you know that – but I love seeing new weapons, it’s like meeting new people… but better!”

Lilac eyes rolled and her hand yanked Ruben’s hood on, “Rubes, this lone wolf thing can’t go on forever.”

The siblings stared at each other. The wind passed over them and the courtyard remained silent. Yang’s smug smirk spread on her face. Ruben’s smile grew on his face and he started wiggling his ears again. Shaking her head, the elder resumed her argument.

“I was okay with you doing that at Signal, but this is a new start; you need to meet new people and make friends.”

“Why do I need friends when I have you?”

Yang searched his eyes. It was a genuine inquiry that she had no answer for. Guilt ate away at her: no child at Ruben’s age should ask that kind of question – did she fail somewhere?

_‘To be fair, Rubes isn’t exactly… normal.’_

That fact had been a source of grievances in their lives. Even she struggled to manage his condition, while she learned to be patient, others couldn’t and just labelled him as _‘crazy’._

_‘Crap, this year is going to be much harder than if stayed with Tai… but then I wouldn’t know if he’ll be okay at all! Why is this so complicated?!’_

While his sister had a mental crisis, he stared on expectant of an answer to what he assumed to be a simple question. A tall figure came closer to them and he noticed it was Shaquone Amaya. It was rare to see the Vacuan on his own, as he was attached at the hip with Yang's other friend, Victoria Morado. Even Amaya's smile wasn't as bright but it stayed strong for Yang.

“Hey Firecracker!”

Shay studied the blonde’s spaced-out expression and waved a dark-skinned hand in front of her, which snapped her out of it.

“Did your brain stall?” he smirked, “Vic always told you not to think so hard or you’ll hurt yourself.”

Ruben snapped his head to look at him, “Can that happen?”

Shay stuck his tongue out at Yang’s miffed expression, “Your big sis does it all the time, the nights where she comes home late and loopy is because she spent the whole evening thinking.”

“Shut up Shay!”

Xiao Long grumbled but joined in on Shay'c cackling. They tapered off when she asked, "Where's Vicky?"

Bitterness laced his tone when he explained: "Y'know how her Mum was always pestering her to go to Shade? Well she got in there but she didn't pass the admissions for Beacon, so..."

Not letting herself mope, Yang perked up, "Knowing her, we're gonna have to phone her daily since that girl can't use the social media to save her life."

"Damn right." he chuckled before he turned to the cloaked teen, "What did you say to space Yang out like that?"

Ruben answered before his sister could, “I asked why I need friends if I have her.”

Cringe lines appeared on Shaquone's dark face while the elder sibling rubbed her brow. Shay leaned to Rose’s height, “You see Rubes, friends care for and support you when family can’t, the same way we do for Yang.”

“So, they’re like extra family?”

“Yeah!”

“So how do I make them?”

“That depends on the people: some people click, and others don’t. But I can take Yang and you can try it out on your own?”

“Yaya, I don’t think-”

“Okay!”

“Awesome, good luck Rubes!”

The boy snared his friend's arms and dashed away. Yang told him she’ll meet him in the Auditorium for the Introduction Assembly.

If only he knew where that was…

_‘Oh, well!’_

Clapping his leather hands together and rocking on his tiptoes, Ruben analysed all the ways one could find a companion. He concluded that he needed to close his eyes and wonder.

_‘I have to reach into the winds of fate, to allow the Maidens to give me the strength to make the bonds that last a life – oof!’_

“What is wrong with you; why are you wandering with your eyes closed?!”

A high-pitched whine pained both sets of his ears. Glaring hard at him, a sheep Faunus picked up the suitcases that fell from a trolley.

“Careful Benedict, drop them and you could lose more than your job.”

“Yes, Miss Schnee.”

Ruben picked one up to help. Pale hands snatched it from his grasp. He turned to the voice; a girl - snow-white hair, a winter-themed combat skirt, red-trimmed jacket and heels and piercing ice-blue eyes. One of them had a scar that marred the near-perfect symmetry of her face.

“Do you understand what could’ve happened if these fell out?”

Instinct told him that upsetting this ‘Miss Schnee’ would be unwise, so he replied with a subdued:

“No.”

“You could have blown us off the cliff!”

“But I didn’t.”

“It’s a matter of principle, you dolt!”

Ruben shrunk into himself – her yelling was reminiscent of his own meltdowns, so he assumed he upset her. Twitchy once again, his hands quivered. Miss Schnee opened the suitcase to take out a vial of powdered Fire Dust.

“This is Dust, mined from my family’s quarry.”

“Okay.”

For some strange reason, she popped open the vial, and she gesticulated with it, Dust pouring out. But the Schnee was more concerned with educating a fellow Hunter-in-training about what powers his weaponry. While letting it pour out. Rose picked up on the scent fast.

_‘Darn wolf's senses.’_

He rubbed his nose to deter sneezing and the girl just shook the bottle harder. Even her butler had the sense to back away from the possible explosion site when his nose breathed in the Dust.

“-what do you have to say for yourself?”

**“ACHOO!”**

A plume of fire, ice and lightning shattered the courtyard bricks, smacking the two everywhere. Thick smoke wafted into their noses and stained their clothing. Static in the atmosphere spiked Ruben’s hair, much to his chagrin. He turned on his Aura as he whipped his tanned face clear of ash. Soon, the Schnee was visible, covered in debris and coughing hard. Ruben jogged over to help her stand, but she knocked it away to berate him.

“Look at what you’ve done!”

“I’m so sorry!”

Her Aura kicked in and her bruises faded but her anger burned brighter. Meanwhile, another boy noticed the pair after almost getting hit by scorched rubble. He drew closer.

“How can you be so reckless?”

Ruben’s brain thought too fast for his mouth to cope, and a line of senseless words babbled out instead.

_‘No! Speak properly – I apologised, and it was her fault, anyway!’_

Schnee’s blue orbs studied his jittery and short stature. She noted how he refused to look her in the eye as he blathered gibberish like a child.

“You look a bit young to be attending Beacon, you know?”

His hand exercises refused to calm him, and the girl’s scrutiny weighed a thousand tons, so he moved to lift his hood. Schnee saw the wolf ears upon his head and stepped back.

“You’re a Faunus from those charity programs, right?”

Ruben shook his head.

“If you are a student here, try to understand this _Mongrel:_ we’re here to fight monsters so sort yourself out before you get someone killed.”

Benedict stood to the side with his sheep ears twitching at Schnee’s comment, but he did nothing. Another voice barged in.

“That’s rich coming from you, Schnee.”

Everyone turned to the newcomer, his black, shin-high boots announcing his arrival. His most profound feature was his gold eyes, almost hidden by his black fringe. A sailor captain’s hat rested upon his head, complimented by his leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up to 3/4 if the length, and his black - fading to purple - trousers. His white dress shirt was almost obscured by his scarf. A sleeve covered one of his arms, while the other had a black ribbon wrapped around it. A cleaver hung on his back, a flower emblem printed on the front, which gained Ruben’s attention.

“What do you mean by that?” Schnee whined.

He turned his nose up at her, “You are Weiss Schnee, right?”

“Naturally.”

“The heiress of the Atlesian family corporation that gets their wealth from pseudo-slavery and thrives by obliterating lesser companies that deal in the same trade, not to mention the dodgy business practices they tend to use?”

Weiss gaped at the boy’s audacity.

“You have some nerve to tell this kid he’s going to get someone hurt fighting monsters, when he’s busy fearing you – you are a walking Grimm magnet, but not just to him." He handed over her bottle of half-empty Fire Dust, “I suggest you fix your attitude Schnee before you someone hurt; we’re here to fight monsters not to terrorise Faunus, remember?” 

The sheep Faunus busied himself with his mistress’ luggage, snickering. Weiss couldn’t comprehend the snub against her. She stuttered and pointed, but nothing coherent came out. She growled at the black-haired boy, took the vial and stomped away. Her butler followed suit, flashing a smile at the boys.

Ruben’s silver eyes stared at the retreating white figure. His ears flopped, “I guess we didn’t click.”

“What?”

“Do you think she’s too mad to make friends with me?”

Shocked, the older teen pointed at the retreating Schnee, “Y-you want to be friends with her?”

Ruben shrugged. The older boy rubbed his arm, “You can make friends with anyone, just not _her;_ understand that there are people who will treat you like she did, and it’s best to avoid them – if you’re going to show your ears to the world, I suggest you keep your head down.”

“My sister told me I should never hide my ears; it’s not right to hate what you can’t change.”

“But society will, and some show their hate more violently than others; sometimes you have to hide to protect yourself.”

Without another word, the noirette stormed off, leaving Rose on his own. He looked as if the muscles of his face had gone on strike. Everything about it was slack and it gave him the aura of one who would spurn even the most well-meaning attempts to strike up a conversation. He thought gloomy reflections as he sunk to the ground, crossed-legged rocking back and forth.

_‘Two possible friendships gone in one fell swoop – why are people so complicated?’_

“What did I miss?”

Ruben looked up. A blonde human male with sapphire blue eyes peered back.

“A Faunus blowing up a Schnee.” the blonde held a horrified expression, “Don’t worry, she’s fine.”

“Oh, good.”

A tumbleweed rolled behind them and a penny dropped in the distance. Ruben noted how windy it was on the campus. The blonde held out a hand for him.

“I’m Jaune.”

“Ruben.”

After helping him stand, Ruben studied the boy closer until he yelled: “You’re the Vomit Boy!”

* * *

By a fountain minutes later, the duo continued their banter as the blonde tried to defend himself against Ruben’s musings, “Well, the name’s Jaune Arc: short, sweet rolls of the tongue and the ladies love it.”

The Faunus squinted.

“Do they?”

“They will!” He huffed, “My Mom always said… never mind.”

Jaune heard Ruben murmuring his name to himself but paid it no mind and waited for him to introduce himself.

“Ruben Xiao Long-Rose, at your service, good sir!”

He bowed and Arc asked: “How long have you been waiting to say that to someone?”

“A while.”

He giggled as Rose rubbed his human ears. A lull passed in, filled with the sounds of fountains spraying water before Jaune pulled out his weapon.

“I got this sword.”

Ruben barged into his personal space to coo at the blade, silver eyes tracking its every movement. Arc then popped out his shield, his golden house crest plastered on the front.

“What do they do?”

“When I get tired of carrying my sword, I turn Crocea into a sheath and… put it away.”

“Wouldn’t it weigh the same?”

“Yeah.” The blonde’s blue eyes noticed the cherry-black male holding himself from snatching the great sword out of his grip. He smiled and gave it to him, then he pretended to cut down enemies on the battlefield.

“It’s so light and the slice is smooth; the wrap is so soft, there’s no way you could get blisters with this, but the crossguard is pathetic.”

“Hey, Mors is a family heirloom!”

Ruben stopped his fake battle to look at the etching on the blade. The household wrote a motto in old Valian on the base – rusted but decipherable.

“That explains it - nothing a few upgrades couldn’t fix!”

Jaune sulked, crossing his arms, “What’s your weapon then?”

Missing the snark in Arc’s tone, Rose revealed Crescent Rose. He shifted her to sword mode, her dark grey blade shimmering in the sun. Then the younger teen transformed the blade into a scythe, flourishing it before slamming into the ground behind him. Jaune yelped and flinched as Ruben beamed with pride.

“This is my beloved Crescent Rose; a high impact, customisable, triple-shift sniper rifle, sword and scythe!”

“What?”

“She’s a very big gun.”

“Ah.”

He stepped closer to study the weapon.

“You didn’t hold back designing it, huh?”

“Nope, my sister and I spent a month getting metal in the Grand Scrap Yard and two months making her in my Dad’s forge – it felt like it took forever!”

“You made this?”

“With my bare-slash-gloved hands!”

Jaune hummed in understanding before another pause broke the conversation. As Ruben tucked C. R into her holster, Jaune rocked on the balls of his feet and asked:

“So… where are we going?”

“I don’t know – I was following you.”

“But I was following you!”

“I don’t know where-” Ruben’s ears flicked towards the chattering of children and walked away. Seeing his companion wandering off, Arc shrugged and followed.

* * *

50ft. of chiselled granite and marble towered over the duo. Obsidian accents on the amphitheatre emphasised the grandeur of the school, with its glimmering windows and techy pillars. Inside, the hall was circular but fit all 800 students under the exposed blue sky. Ruben’s ears flattened on his head at the abundance of people. Jaune, optimistic, awed over the building’s structure, then sighed as he looked over the stage.

“It may be a while before the Headmaster gives his speech so…”

Rose furrowed his brows, “So what?”

“Let’s go mingle, maybe we’ll find a cute girl to talk to – Heck, we could even make one more buddy before initiation.”

Ruben shrunk away from the prospect, “After the ‘Schneecident’, I kind of want to stop with the friendship thing – too much hassle and yelling, you know?”

_‘I can cope in Beacon without them, I didn’t have any at Signal, and I came out just fine.’_

“Come on Ruben, you made friends with me… I think?”

Sparkles shone in the Faunus’ silver orbs and his smile blinded those walking past.

He squealed, “Really?!”

“Sure!”

Squirming in excitement, Ruben’s metaphorical tail wagged, and his fist pumped, “Well then, we shall continue on this quest of friendship; lead the way, Sir Arc!”

Blue eyes scouted for a potential friend before focusing on a red-haired girl surrounded by a handful of admirers. She signed shirts, hands and papers, took pictures with and chattered with adoring fans. Ruben followed Jaune’s sight and noticed the young woman.

“She looks friendly.”

“But there’s so many people around her.”

“Which means she’s likeable; you don't have to blow this one up, Crater Face.”

Cheeks puffed out and crimson, Ruben growled, “Listen Vomit Boy, she waved Fire Dust in my face; I didn’t mean to blow her up!”

Jaune laughed and let the insult pass. They started their approach.

* * *

“Bye Miss Nikos, and thank you!”

She waved at her devotees as they trickled away. A moment elapsed and she let her smile fade. Pyrrha caressed her sore cheeks as she hummed to herself.

_‘There goes hoping; at least they’re not as obnoxious as Sanctum’s students.’_

Her green eyes noticed a blonde human and a cherry-black haired Faunus walking up to her.

_‘Please don’t come here.’_

The blonde smirked when he realised she was watching at them. He tried to walk with swagger and failed. Even the Faunus looked uncomfortable by his behaviour, swatting his friend’s arm, and the blonde stopped. 

_‘Wonderful.’_

They halted in front of her, mouths open. Both silver and blue eyes flicked between each other and the redhead. Ruben found his hands to be interesting to watch. Jaune glared at his companion’s metaphorical abandonment and introduced himself.

“Hello there, hot stuff,” Nikos fought the urge to sigh, “I’m Jaune Arc, a pleasure.”

Ruben looked up at him.

“Why are you talking like that?”

“Shush, just introduce yourself.”

“Oh,” he turned to her, “I’m Ruben Rose.”

She waited for him to say more. He sniffed, his smile looking like a grimace. She cringed for a moment before presenting herself.

“Hello Jaune, Ruben; I’m Pyrrha – it’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Realising that she won’t scream or wave Dust in his face, Rose perked up at her friendly tone. Awkwardness fuelled their conversation (it being nothing but staring) before Pyrrha came to a startling discovery when Rose asked:

“Pyrrha who?”

Joy stampeded in her chest, heart fluttering. Unfamiliarity mingled in their eyes and hope rose further. Pyrrha, astonished and ever so thankful, beamed in happiness as she replied:

“Pyrrha Nikos.”

“Cool name,” Jaune commented.

Silver eyes bore into her own, making her feel a little uncomfortable. After he chanted her name to himself, the Faunus closed his eyes and clenched his shaking fists.

“We need friends, wanna be one?”

He yelped when Arc whacked him on the shoulder.

“Dude, don’t make us sound so desperate!”

“But that’s what we’re doing…” he gasped, “Was it a secret?”

“Never mind,” Jaune muttered as he turned to Pyrrha, “Do you want to hang out with us later?”

Her smile grew weary. False friends - a common occurrence in Niko’s life, whether they were fellow celebrities or overreaching classmates. She refused to delude herself just in case the odd duo broke her heart as others have.

“Before I agree, do you know who I am?”

Flashbacks of Weiss flashed in his mind’s eye and the Faunus leapt behind Jaune, using him as a human shield. He glared at her.

“Should we?”

She laughed, her cheeks stretched to the point of aching, but she couldn’t stop – if it were possible, she would smile forever for the heavy burden of fame lifted ever so slightly. Ruben peeked out of his cover – her joy rung in his ears and he quite liked the sound of it. Bringing happiness to others is one thing he thought himself capable of doing, other than fighting. Happiness was another way of saving people - lesson his mom taught him well. A warmth burned in his chest whenever he made his sullen father or stressed sister chuckle, even at his expense, and this Pyrrha lady was no exception.

“No, don’t worry,” she continued, “I’m a perfectly normal girl.”

“Are you sure?” Ruben pointed at her, “You look kind of familiar and the last famous person I should have recognised exploded this morning.”

Jaune whispered to him, “I thought you-”

_“Details!”_

Hand over her heart, Pyrrha assured him, “Many Mistralians look like me, red hair is common; I’m certain that there’s been a few…

_‘Don’t say athletes!’_

“Mascots!”

_‘Perfect!’_

“Yes, _mascots_ , who look like this.”

Satisfied, Jaune nodded in understanding. Ruben, however, pursed his lips as one of his ears flopped. He squinted at her body and dread dropped through her like a 10-ton block from a skyscraper.

A buxom blonde called for the wolf Faunus a few feet away.

“That’s my big sis, I have to go; I’ll see you guys later!”

While waving goodbye to his strange new wolf friend, Jaune struck up a conversation with the redhead.

* * *

“What’s with the face?”

Ruben snatched Yang’s hand and furiously played with her fingers. Rose’s pouted, wanting to be mad at his sister, but not a cell in his body could muster up the lustre to do so.

_Darn it, me and my honour – she’s lucky she raised me!’_

Lilac eyes studied him, unfazed by the antics of her brother. Another thing to worry about when they form teams. She tried to probe him further non-verbally, but his lips had locked. Deadpan, she snapped: “Ruben.”

“You ditched me, okay?!”

He hates that tone. She knows he hates it – feelings of regret and guilt (at least that’s what she told him they were) always overwhelm him, pressing him down, making him feel awful. He began his shaky rant:

“You and Shay told me to make friends and minutes later I blow up a hole in the school courtyard,” Yang checked out, “Upset the heiress of the world’s Dust supplier and got told off by some mysterious black-haired guy!” Ruben paused, “We’ll I made one friend, and maybe another – but that’s not the point!” His tan face burned red, and he held Yang’s gloved hand tight as he shuffled. “The second you leave, I mess up; why do I need other friends when you’re my best friend, that should be good enough, right?” 

Xiao-Long stared at him.

“Blew up a hole in the school?”

“You weren’t listening!”

“Is that a euphemism for something?”

“A what now?”

The elder Rose realised the only way the words ‘Ruben’ and ‘euphemisms’ would ever be in the same sentence is if the phrase ‘doesn’t understand’ was between them.

“What happened, exactly?”

“I was on my quest to find friendship,” the blonde regret reading so many knights’ tales to him, “And destiny led me to Weiss Schnee.”

“You were wandering around with your eyes closed, _again_ , and bumped into the heiress, cool, continue.”

His ears flayed back after a brief flicker.

“ _Right_ … well, I tried helping her – like the honourable gentleman that I am _–_ and she got upset with me, she was having a proper fit (kinda like my ones) and shook a Dust bottle in my face, then I sneezed, we exploded, she kept yelling and called me a mean name, and I don’t why she was so mad, I was sorry and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!”

_“You!”_

For a canine Faunus, Ruben performed an incredible pounce into his sister’s arms. Whimpering in her shoulder, the boy clung on to her form, away from the source of his terror. The white-haired fury smirked at his pathetic behaviour.

“I’m afraid I have no more vials for you to get us killed with, sorry for the inconvenience?”

Yang stared at her.

_‘Great Maidens, he literally exploded… I left him for five minutes!’_

“It was an accident!” He climbed back down to face her, “I didn’t mean to- what’s this?”

A pamphlet thrust into his face as Weiss read out the T&Cs of using Schnee Dust products, most of which he tuned out, responding with a:

“What?”

Ice-blue eyes rolled, “You really want to make it up to me?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Slamming the booklet on his chest, she turned away from him, “Read this and never look in my direction again.”

“Can do!”

The boy turned towards the stage as he read the document, keeping Weiss out of his peripheral. Frowning, Yang faced the heiress, “Uh, it's Weiss, right?”

She flinched at the informal address of the 5’10” giantess. Her raised brow prompted her to resume.

“It seems like you two got off on the wrong foot; my brother can be… _eccentric_ , but he is very sweet - why don’t you two try this introducing thing again?”

Ears fluttering, Ruben swirled to face the Schnee, his hand sticking out for a shake.

“Hello Miss Schnee, I’m Ruben Rose; want to go supply shopping with me?”

“Oh, and we can paint our nails, try on clothes and talk about boys like tall blonde and scraggly over there!”

Jaune turned away from Pyrrha and tilted his head at the trio. Ruben rubbed his human ears as his eyebrows furrowed, “Not what had in mind, but if you want-”

“First, no.” Schnee ignored the tug at her heartstrings with his flopping ears and downtrodden face, “Second, you broke the terms of our agreement, so definitely not.”

He snapped towards the other direction with a meek apology. Yang glared at the heiress, not quite angry enough to activate her Semblance, but her lilac eyes tinted into a shade of violet.

_‘What a bitch.’_

Was all she could think before Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch took the stage. The Headmaster stepped forwards, tapping the microphone and began his speech.

“I’ll keep this brief." The hall trembled with silence as the reverb of the microphone bounced off the circular walls, “You have all come here, whether that be from a Combat School or outside formal education, to hone your craft and prepare yourself for the dangerous profession that is being a Hunter. Some of you desire new skills and connections to make your job of helping the world easier; others, I assume, just want the license.”

Yang glanced at her boots.

“If Headteachers stood in my place, many would see Mankind’s future protectors; but considering I had read most of your applications, I see nothing but wasted energy. In need of purpose, direction.” Discourse rose and was cut down with his cane tapping the stage, “Whatever your motivation for joining this school was: honour, glory, money; they mean little here – we are doing more than developing warriors in these halls, we are developing young minds to improve where our forbearers have failed, to create a bright future for the later generations, to protect and serve Mankind and defend against those who conspire against it. If you believe you can’t cope with such a burden, I suggest you think twice about being a Hunter. But those who _do_ believe, tomorrow is the chance for you to take the first step. Understand this, children: Only 400 of the 800 people in this room will make it into this school.”

Dread settled in the air as the Professor backed away.

“Fight well and hold your heads high. i wish you all good luck.”

Glynda, unfazed by the ominous message, took over, “As Professor Ozpin said, many of you may not pass the Initiation. If you want to maximise your chances of getting in, I suggest you tune your weapons, go over strategies and get a good night’s sleep. You will be given a letter between A and D. Each group will be assigned a Fourth or Third Year team to lead them to their designated sleeping area. Get some rest and be ready – I will see you all tomorrow.”

Glynda glided off the stage and Yang placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder.

“Was he like that when you met him?”

His red-tipped locks shook as he addressed her. Weiss lingered to hear his response.

“No. I mean, he was just as mysterious as before, but he was so playful when he invited me, like Uncle Qrow – if I didn’t know what he looked like, I wouldn’t recognise him.”

“I guess he wanted to spook us a bit, get us ready for tomorrow.”

“Maybe…”

Jaune slid next to Weiss, “I’m a natural blonde you know.”

* * *

##  **VALE: BEACON ACADEMY- Ballroom**

##  **NOVEMBER 15th (EVENING), 2020 –** ¾ MOON SHATTER

* * *

Soft curves and ridged lines formed on blueprint paper. _‘A never-to-be-used design deserves just as much love as commissioned one’_ according to Ruben Rose. Waves of piano notes and soft strings guided him on his artistic endeavour, the world behind his closed doors with his heart and effort on his page.

“It’s like a big slumber party!” Yang’s muscular form slumped next to him as Shay walked away to find somewhere to lie down. The jerky movement caused Ruben’s pencil to slide off course. He glared at the blemish on his schematics. Took a breath, directing his anger at his sister from the corner of his eye. Grinding his teeth as he searched for a rubber, he said: “I don’t think Dad would approve of you being so close to the boys.”

Lilac orbs rolled and glossed lips pouted, “Bah, what the old man doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Besides, I _certainly_ approve, and the girls look quite fine too…”

Still scowling at her, Ruben murmured to himself: " _You won’t be saying that when I rat you out.”_

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

She squinted at his tense form, passing him an eraser. She scanned the room, seeing a green-eyed redhead talking to the blonde boy she saw Ruben with; her forest eyes glancing in her brother’s direction often, and she couldn’t help but smirk.

“Hey Pup.”

“What?”

She pointed at Pyrrha and Ruben followed its direction. The moment Nikos clocked on to the Xiao Long-Rose siblings watching her, she blushed and waved. Jaune noticed too and copied her. Wolf's ears twitched upwards as he waved back, his greeting much more enthusiastic than theirs. Yang’s grin grew.

“Made some friends then?”

Ruben rubbed his human ears.

“I guess so!”

“So… who’s the girl?”

“Her name is Pyrrha Nikos – she might be famous so don’t let her get too close if she’s holding a vial of Fire Dust.”

The blonde stared at her brother, confused, but shook it off as her his weirdness, “Is she nice?”

“I’m not sure – she’s didn’t yell at me yet, so that’s something.”

“About time you made friends, good job, Pup!”

His smile stretched to the point of aching, but it refused to drop.

In his peripheral, he saw the black-haired boy that saved him from the Schnee, reading a book by candlelight. He sat a few spaces away from Pyrrha and Jaune. He wore a black yukata with a hood obscuring the top of his head, casting shadows over his golden eyes.

_‘Potential friend sighted - must continue the Quest of Friendship.’_

Ruben strode over to the older teen without warning. The boy in question looked up at the small boy waltzing his way closer to him and didn’t hide his grimace.

“Hello!” The noirette stared at Rose, “Remember me?”

“You’re the boy who blew up the Schnee, right?”

“That was a- never mind, I’m Ruben!”

“Okay.”

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Blake.”

The Faunus waited for him to finish. Shaking his head, Blake resumed: “Blake Nightshade.”

Ruben stuck his hand out to shake but when amber orbs glared at the gesture as if it offended it him, he pulled it away. Concerned, Yang stood by her brother to provide support and spoke to Blake next: “Whatcha reading?”

He growled under his breath before replying: “It’s about a man with two souls that fight for control over his body.”

“Jekyll and Hyde?”

Shocked by the buxom blonde’s literary knowledge, he stammered out a correction: “N-no, but it inspired the writer, Ursula Oscarito.”

“Yang!” Ruben butt in, “You read that one to me last year, we went to watch the film, remember?”

The girl nodded in remembrance, “Oh yeah, the book was better, but they got the confrontation scene right.”

Ruben grasped his cherry-black locks and imitated a panicked expression, “ _Oh man, oh man, I’ve lost it, I’ve gone mad!”_

Yang joined in with a posh accent, _“Remain calm Oswin, you are quite sane!”_

_“How is that supposed to help?!”_

_“Do you want me to lie?!”_

_“I dunno man – stop yelling at me!”_

_“Then calm down!”_

_“You calm down!”_

The siblings bust out in laughter and an amused Blake joined them. His gruff chortles vibrated through his body, an odd sensation considering he hasn’t shared a genuine laugh with anyone since-

_‘Stop that right there, Belladonna.’_

Put off by the sudden dark turn of his thoughts, he addressed the two, “No offence, but you two don’t seem like the type to read books like this.”

Yang flapped a hand at him, “None taken – I’m picky, so I don’t read often, but if the story is interesting enough, I’m willing to _book_ a space for it in my schedule for it.”

_‘I can’t believe I smiled at that.’_

Nightshade pondered to himself, restraining a snigger at the siblings’ cheeky faces and Rose’s wiggling hound ears. Ruben offered his perspective.

“Yang reads to me all the time,” Blake didn’t miss the slight twitch in the human girl’s expression, “I know tons of novels and stories.”

Smiling and lowering his book, Blake asked: “Do you have any favourites?”

“I love _‘The Tales of King Osydian and His Silver Knights_ – the first page is the best bit ‘cos the original Hunter’s Code is on it!”

After he cleared his throat, he remembered the code with practised, sincere passion: " _Thou shall respect all weaknesses and shall establish thyself as the defender of them, thou shall serve Mankind and never recoil before her enemy, thou shall make war against the Darkness without hesitation or mercy; thou shall give aid to all and shall be the champion of all that is Right and Good against Injustice and Evil.”_ He opened his eyes and sighed like reciting the scripture winded him, “Ever since Sis read that to me eight years ago, I knew I had to live by that code – Huntsman or not.”

Impressed, Blake leaned back. Yang’s eyes pricked with tears, which she quickly banished.

“That’s very ambitious for a child; I’m afraid the world won’t make such a job easy for you,” he spaced out, brows strained, “Many tried to take it on and just couldn’t cope.”

“But everyone here will, and if we hit a wall, we’ll find a way around it or bust straight through – we are going to make the world a better place and do so by living according to that code, we can’t let a few pesos… passe-”

“Pessimists?” Yang offered.

“That!” He turned to Blake to finish, “Can’t let those people stop us from doing our duty!”

Stunned into silence (as were the hopeful graduates nearby), the hidden Faunus looked at his junior. Old wisdom lay beyond those silver orbs of his, much too ancient for one so young. The desire to protect the embodiment of innocence standing before him clashed with the fear of… well, he wasn’t sure what it was about the wolf Faunus that intimidated him (it was _not_ his canine heritage). Power?

_‘Yes, that’s what it is.’_

It was the _power_ laced in his tone that gave Ruben that dangerous edge, that made Blake want to either fight alongside the boy or run from him. Pyrrha and Jaune, both as shell shocked as the noirette, looked at Ruben with admiration – both were certain that he’ll attend Beacon, no matter how he performs in the initiation.

Blake stuck out a hand and Ruben met it with his own, “Well, Mister Rose, when you put it that way, this huntsman thing might be worthwhile.”

Ruben blinded him with a beaming smile, which he returned, “Glad to inspire you, Mister Nightshade.”

A squeal from his left and Ruben found himself in Yang’s arms, having his life-force being squeezed out of him.

“My baby bro is growing up so fast!”

“Oxygen… need… to… _consume!”_

She squeezed him tighter, so he plucked a strand of her hair. As soon as she dropped him, he began running. Waves of heat rolled off the eldest Xiao Long-Rose, and her eyes burned blood red.

**“RUBEN!”**

* * *

Weiss tossed and turned in her bedroll, a barbarian’s comfort that she would have to grow used to using. Her first day had been much more eventful than she expected, and not in a good way. Her clothes remained embarrassingly scorched for most of the day, and her hair was decorated with ash until the Fourth Year’s lead her division to the ballroom and showed her the showers. Then, some random Mistralian boy had the audacity to call her father a slaver! Not to mention the mindless Faunus mutt that caused all the worst aspects of her day to happen!

_‘To think Ozpin invited him - preposterous!’_

For an instant, Schnee let go of her anger to relax until a male tripped over her, “Sorry!”

Ruben barely looked at her before resuming his mad dash. She held her stomach, red-faced and ready to scream at the boy until his golden-haired sister leapt over her head. Schnee gave chase. When she arrived at the spot, she witnessed the Faunus fail at wrestling his sister. His form weak and sloppy even if he was putting his heart into it. The elder sibling overpowered him within seconds and sat on his back as he squirmed on the floor. The others looked on in amusement.

“Do you yield?”

“Never!”

She crossed her arms, smirking before she noticed the white-haired girl seething behind her. Her smile faded while she asked: “Can I help you?”

Schnee ground her teeth once more, “It is ten-thirty at night and our test is at eight. You and your brother are making it impossible to sleep!”

“I doubt your shrieking is making it any better, princess.”

Blake buried his face in his book to hide his laughter. Ruben, his face growing red from lack of breath, looked up at Weiss.

“We’re sorry, we’ll keep it down after I win this.”

“No, do so now – I will not lessen my chances of getting in because of your roughhousing!”

Pyrrha butt in, “Perhaps she is right, it’ll be a long day tomorrow.”

“Thank you, at least someone has a bit of sense.”

Yang growled, “If you have a problem with me, that’s fine. But what’s your problem with Ruben? People are making noise everywhere, if you haven’t noticed.”

“But none of them tripped on me or jumped over my head!”

“What a shame, they should do that more often. Maybe you’ll get your head out of your ass for more than a minute.”

Yang stood to full height as the girl got nearer, but the Schnee didn’t flinch at the footlong difference between them. Her pride fuelling her fury, Yang’s love fuelling hers. They stared each other down, neither wanting to be the first to concede.

“Oh, is a fight going to break out right now?”

A bombastic ginger girl next to a tired, black-haired boy gawked at Yang and Weiss. Her friend spoke up: “Don’t encourage it, Nora, we’ll have enough fighting to enjoy tomorrow.”

“But Ren…”

He took her hand, dragging her away as she tried to keep her eyes trained on the battle.

“You have no right to speak to me that way!”

“I don’t remember asking Ice Queen – but if you clap at my brother, I’ll slap right back.”

“You uncultured-”

“Swine?” She flicked her shining locks, “I know; what’s your excuse for being such a bitch?”

Tension crackled in the air. Pyrrha trapped in herself in limbo as she wondered if she should interfere or ignore them. Jaune gawked at the heiress in awe of her fire and fearlessness, despite it being obvious that Yang could bench her within minutes. Ruben blinked at them before walking off to his sleeping bag. Rolling his amber eyes, Blake slammed his book closed.

“Welp! This has been quite an eventful evening and as much as I’d love to watch Yang wreck the Schnee, you all have officially ruined my reading time so I prefer to go to bed – Goodnight everyone.”

Yang and Weiss pointed at each other, “But she-”

**“I said 'Goodnight'!”**

A candle blew out and the corner of the ballroom shrouded itself in darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mock Exams this week so life has been in a horrible limbo. Sorry guys!


	3. The First Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first steps to a grand adventure...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Estimated Reading Time: 15 Minutes.

Ruben needed to move without end; the snores of 200 other students in a ballroom fuelling his anxious energy. Every muscle felt tight, sprung for action, but he couldn’t even walk. His body screamed at him to sprint down the halls, to spend the energy that kept piling in regardless of his inability to use it. Even his face felt tight, like emoting wasn’t a choice. A carousel of fear spun in his mind, each thought amplifying his worry more than the last.

Violin strings knifed him, a constant ring in his mind as ominous war drums increased their tempo and more instruments joined the fray – his anxiety conducting the orchestra with relentless fury. Flutes, triangles and clarinets attempted to calm the pace, all drowned out by the rising crescendo.

Wild hands the unfished sketch. The smell of roses flared as gloved hands channelled their owner’s creativity.

_‘There are so many people here. I might not get in… At least they finish Combat School! Why did Ozpin invite me so early? Is he trying to embarrass me? Oh, Maidens - What if I embarrass Yang? She’ll stop talking to me – she won’t ever look at me again! Why is the music so loud?!’_

Faint tendrils of smoke wafted into his nose as his tool scorched the paper. A glance at the burnt parchment and the Faunus chucked it aside, scavenging for his tool kit and fiddling with an Ember Celica gauntlet. Oiling, tightening and cleaning his sister’s weapon – their shared craft – with immense speed.

Feminine hands rested on top of his when his tightening of a screw left metal shavings on his sleeping bag.

“Breathe, Ruben.”

Chocked gasps emitted from his mouth – eyes stared at him; he could sense their presence crawling over his body, judging him. Section by section, his mind shut down and his frantic energy slammed to a halt.

He whined, his ears flicking.

_‘It’s so loud!’_

Yang came into view, trying to get Ruben’s attention – but he may as well be looking straight through her. A grimace escaped her control while she tried to school her expressions into a calm facade for his benefit.

_‘Don’t have a meltdown now, Pup, just control it.’_

Yang knew better than to say that aloud. Ruben’s guilt would amplify, thus make his breakdown worse. A few deep breaths later, Yang slipped off his gloves and caressed his sensitive hands. White softening powder stained her thumbs, but she didn’t care. A jolt tremored through Ruben’s body as he noticed his big sister, a worried expression on her face. He remained as still as the dawn air outside, even as she carried him to the balcony.

Golden eyes studied the fleeting duo, brows creased in concern before closing once more.

* * *

# VALE: BEACON ACADEMY – Locker Room

# NOVEMBER 16th, 2020 (Morning) – ¾ MOON SHATTER

* * *

“Alright, I have a plan and it’s just crazy enough that it might work!”

The noirette sighed as he reached for his green pistols, Storm Flower.

“Let’s hear it then.”

His ginger companion bounced on the wooden benches behind him, her weapon – a hammer named Magnhild – strapped to her back. Despite the sight of it, the weapon didn’t hinder her hyperactivity. She clapped her hands, and a concentrated frown appeared on her face.

“So… we’ll have animal calls so we can find each other in the forest, but like specific ones so we don’t think that the other is a Grimm and shoot – maybe a griffon, or an ostrich? Can you imitate a sloth, because a sloth is perfect – I don’t think a Grimm or human could mimic that!”

“Nora?”

She ended her rambling and hummed, “Yes, Ren?”

“I don’t think sloths make noise at all.”

Teal eyes glanced across the room, analysing. Nora’s brows creased, and her lips pursed until: “That’s why it’s perfect!” She pointed at her brain, “Then, no-one will know that we’re working together, look at my big brain go!”

Ren smirked as he flicked a pink lock back in its place, “C’mon Nora, let’s get a few snacks for the initiation.”

“Not together-together of course…” the ginger giggled to herself.

Yang glanced over at her baby brother as she equipped Ember Celica. He replaced his beloved cloak with a red hood and sash while humming a jaunty tune.

“You’re chipper this morning.”

Ruben jumped on the spot, “How can I not be? It’s Initiation Day—that and we stopped a meltdown, so wins everywhere!”

She crossed her arms, his joyous expression amplifying her own. Relief washed over her while she suppressed thoughts of worry and angst.

“Anyone you want to partner up with?”

“Nope.”

Her smile weakened, and she rubbed her brow.

“What do you mean by that; what about all the friends you made yesterday?”

“Pfft, silly Yang, the only friend I need is right here,” He cuddled Crescent Rose, “The only talking we’re doing today is down to Grimm; no more friendship stuff for me, sister!”

_‘Damn it, he was doing so well.’_

The blonde leaned against the lockers as she said: “You are aware we’re gonna be in teams, right?”

Ruben paused, gulped, and stared into the void.

_‘More social interaction? Gods, why do you hate me?’_

“Put effort into things _other_ than fighting today; working with others is an important life skill.”

“Then I’ll join up with-”

“No.”

Silver eyes opened wide and shock embedded itself deep in his soul. Rubes had to try not to trip into his locker in recoil. Like a wall of stone, Yang looked at him without a hint of remorse.

“Why?”

She shook her head.

“I won’t always be there to look after you, not in this job. Partnering up with me means you will stagnate - you know how we fight together, you won’t learn anything - other people will encourage you to grow more than I can.”

His ears fluttered as he huffed: “I don’t need others to help me grow up. I. Drink. Milk.”

“Ruben, you-”

He tuned her out, locking onto the sight of a fretting Jaune searching for his locker. A few feet away he saw Pyrrha and Weiss. He focused on them, eager to see their weapons.

* * *

“So Pyrrha, do you have any plans for making teams?”

Green orbs peered up in thought. Weiss shuffled in her locker, waiting for a response. The two Atlesians (half in Nikos’ case) had practically grown up together. Both had military personnel in their families and shared celebrity status meant they were playmates often. They weren’t close emotion-wise but knew each other well.

Pyrrha pondered on having Weiss as her partner.

_‘She’s a skilled fighter, intelligent, efficient in almost everything, and we’re familiar acquaintances. But she’s a bit…’_

She killed the idea, unable to bear degrading her comrade’s character, even in her mind. No one else came to notice, so she shrugged her shoulders once Schnee faced her.

“I’ll just let the chips fall where they may.”

“In that case,” She loaded Myrtenaster with Dust of various types, “You and I will make a superb partnership if you’re interested.”

“That sounds grand, Weiss!”

“Wonderful!”

The ladies proceeded with their mission prep until:

“You know what else is wonderful?” An awkward mess of blonde hair and mismatched armour/clothing popped up beside the heiress, “Me, Jaune Arc, nice to meet you.”

Weiss groaned, “You again?”

“Hello, Jaune!” Nikos waved at him, which he copied before turning to the heiress.

“So, Weiss, I couldn’t help but overhear your fondness of me yesterday.”

As he flexed his… ‘muscles’, Schnee slapped her forehead.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“No need to feel embarrassed. Many girls struggle to resist my charms.”

Pyrrha didn’t know if she should laugh or cringe. She settled for both.

“I was hearing rumours about teams,” the scraggly boy hummed, “and thought you and I would make a good one, what do ya say?”

The redhead tapped her chin, “I think the teams comprise four students each-”

He murmured, “You don’t say.”

Sliding over to the semi-secret celebrity, Jaune placed an arm on her, “Well, Pyrrha over here is aware of how awesome I am and wishes to be on my winning squad.”

“Uh…”

Weiss stood between him and her former playmate.

“Jaune, is it?”

“Call me whatever you want, Snow Angel.”

“I’ll stick with Jaune – this is Pyrrha Nikos, a living legend.”

“Hello again.” She picked up her Xiphos and Aspis. Footsteps thundered towards the trio at a breakneck pace followed by a:

“OH, MY GODS!”

Ruben slid to a halt in front of Pyrrha. If he had a tail it would wag like mad, but his bright face and stiff ears expressed his joy quite enough. He pointed at her, unable to form words, but Pyrrha could understand. She bit her tongue, facial muscles trained to stop her expressing despair.

_‘Some things don’t last, I guess.’_

She waited for him to seek something from her.

“That’s Miló from the ‘Marvelous Machines’ magazine and he’s yours? Can I carry him?!”

_Something_ , but not that.

Her train of disappointed thoughts derailed and exploded. Hold the weapon? Not beg for a picture or autograph?

_‘He speaks as if he still doesn’t recognise me; I was in that photoshoot too and he didn’t see me?’_

She gave the sword/rifle/javelin, anyhow.

“Look at the craftsmanship, such extreme detail,” Ruben swung it, “Much lighter than Crescent Rose, odd for a triple shift weapon – this colour scheme compliments you so well…”

The Faunus rambled on, complimenting the blade and its owner. Yang walked over with a fed-up expression. Weiss, still peeved with the youngster, interrupted his mindless musings.

“Why are you gawking over her tool when the star is right there?”

He gasped at her.

“Miló is her trusted friend, her first weapon, she’s only as great as he is, and he’s pretty fantastic.”

Weiss continued, “But it was Pyrrha who graduated top of her class at Sanctum Academy, not her sword.”

Jaune mouthed ‘Sanctum?’

He and Ruben met eyes, and both shrugged. Ruben spoke up – not looking the white-haired girl in the eye, much to her irritation - and focused on the red blade.

“Well done! I’m sure you worked hard for it.”

Weiss ground her teeth, “Humph, she won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row in the mixed bracket – the youngest champion in decades and set a world record.”

He gripped the tool in a defensive stance, taking swings at imaginary enemies, “WOAH, how easy do you expect killing Grimm would be in comparison? It’ll be like cutting butter on the battlefield!”

Jaune asked: “What tournament?”

As Pyrrha opened her mouth Weiss cried out:

“She’s on the front of every Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Flakes box!”

Arc awed over this, “That’s you? They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!”

Finally able to talk, she sighed, “Yeah, it was pretty cool, but the cereal isn’t very good for you.”

Meanwhile, Ruben retrieved a hoodie. It was as black as Blake’s hair; the cuffs and neck embroidered with gold-bronze stitching to look like the Mistralian’s armour. A hare (an actual animal, not a Faunus) version of Pyrrha plastered on the middle. Rose presented the raggedy fleece with pride.

“I spent all my savings buying 200 boxes of Pumpkin Pete’s finding this limited-edition jumper, I was so proud of myself when I found it; now that you mention it, the bunny looks like you.”

Yang glared at his head.

_‘I almost burned down the house too. Good thing he never tried that again – I doubt my pockets or heart could take it.’_

Weiss clicked her fingers as Ruben and Jaune studied each other’s jumpers. She ignored the Faunus, noticing that his golden-haired sister inspecting her when she attempted to speak to him. She decided it was best not to play with fire.

“Either way, Jaune, do you think you can say that _she_ would be on _your_ team?”

He slumped, his yellow locks hiding his eyes, “I guess not, sorry.”

“Don’t be so callous,” Pyrrha tutted, “Jaune could be an outstanding leader.”

“Oh, stop it.” Jaune gasped and waved a bashful hand, Weiss shook her head.

“Seriously, please stop it – we should not encourage his behaviour.”

“Sounds like Pyrrha is up for team Jaune – spots are filling up quick!” A cheeky smirk appeared on Arc’s face, “Now, I’m not supposed to do this but, maybe I can pull a few strings? Find space for you? What do you say?”

Even with the cocky male in her view, her expression stayed deadpan. Stroking Myrtenaster once, a gravity Glyph appeared under Jaune’s feet and flung him across the room.

“No thanks, sorry.”

Hands resting on her back, Schnee strutted to the exit without a word. Yang sneered at her as she helped Jaune stand. Both blondes cringed at the huge dent in the locker, then the teen groaned.

“I don’t get it, my Dad said that women look for confidence – what did I do wrong?”

“Well,” Xiao Long rubbed her chin, “ignoring the fact that you have questionable tastes in girls, calling her ‘Snow Angel’ wasn’t the best start, Lady Killer.”

At his sullen whine she stated: “Don’t bother with the Ice Queen, if you upset her, she might freeze the kingdom over.”

Jaune laughed, and Yang patted him on the shoulder. She angled herself to call for Ruben, but once she saw him on a bench with the Mistralian Champion - holding a conversation for once in his life, she walked out with Jaune, offering tips for future flirting; a proud smile fixed on her visage.

Meanwhile, the red-themed duo sat on a bench. Pyrrha took in the advice and tricks Ruben offered to take care of Miló. Not once did he mention her achievements, ask her for an autograph or memorabilia – nothing. When asked if she forged the Xiphos sword and Akoúo herself, she replied:

“No, I helped design them, but my mother did all the forging.”

“Wow,” Ruben whispered, “You Mom has some killer skill, and you designed him so brilliantly, you’ve gotta teach me how you did it.”

Her cheeks warmed up while uncertainty brewed in her heart. On the one hand, she could leap for joy. He was one of the few people who viewed her successes as something anyone could achieve.

_“I’m sure you worked hard for it.”_

Damn right she did. Talent alone isn’t how she got her fame and trophies, but everybody else believed otherwise. Many over-hyped her skills as a thing she was born with. As if there was no way that she earned them. It was new and freeing, being viewed in such a manner. Pyrrha’s blush bloomed brighter.

_‘Maybe I’m looking to deep into it.’_

Rose wasn’t the first boy to fluster her, and not the last. She listened to her Mom’s voice and remained cautious of the Faunus.

“I’d love to help, Ruben.”

“Sweet!”

Before either could say anything, a voice boomed on the speakers.

_**“Group A of the Recruits, please come to the Jade Cliff for your Initiation. I repeat, Group A please come to the Jade Cliffs.”** _

“At last.” Nikos blew her fringe out of her eyes, “Are you ready?”

Rose hopped up to a stand, “I was born ready - the Grimm won’t know what hit them!”

He knelt to one knee, presenting her weapon like a Knight before his Lord. She giggled as she took it and the scarlet duo left for the meeting point.

* * *

#  **VALE: BEACON ACADEMY - EMERALD CLIFFS**

#  **NOVEMBER 16th, 2020 (MORNING) – ¾ MOON SHATTER**

* * *

20 of the 200 students of Group A stood on a cliff, overlooking the vast expanse of the Emerald Forest. Ruben stepped between Yang and Jaune on a grey slab. Pyrrha stood by Weiss and Blake while Nora and Ren placed themselves side-by-side. The early spring breeze wafted through their clothes, still bitter from the harsh winter season. 500ft above the evergreen thicket, the frigid air nipped at any exposed skin and the wolf Faunus wished he had his cloak.

Despite the severe lack of pupils, the Professors, Goodwitch and Ozpin, didn’t appear concerned.

“I’m certain you’ve noticed that many of your peers are missing,” the stern blonde addressed, “Since it would be pure chaos to let 200 teenagers run around a Fledgling-infested forest, we split the group further to make initiation less… messy.”

With concerns settled, the woman went on.

“I will also put the rumours about teams to rest – you’ll be partnered up… today.”

Dread washed over the teens, save for one bubbly Ginger, who knew she had nothing to worry about because of her awesome plan. Glynda continued:

“The partnering system is to save space in the dorms, but it’s integral that a Hunter can work with others – even if they become soloists after getting their licence.”

Rose yanked on his hood.

“A good partnership needs communication,” Blake snapped his eyelids shut.

“Tolerance,” Weiss crossed her arms.

“Patience,” Yang found the clouds to be an interesting sight.

“Self-respect,” Pyrrha rubbed her thumbs over her knuckles.

“And humility and competence.” Ruben pulled his hood further over his eyes as Jaune kicked the ground.

Ozpin smirked. That cheeky one, the silver-eyed boy remembered from the night the man invited him. It grew as he said:

“These traits can be achieved by partnering with someone you know. Your time in school will be easier,” The older Xiao Long didn’t dare look at her brother’s smug face. She refused to respond as he elbowed her, feeling the smug ‘I told you so’ in the air.

“So, I’ve decided that the first person you make eye-contact with shall be your partner for the next four years.”

Jaws dropped, followed by a meek “Wait, what?”

Nora nudged Ren, mouthing ‘Sloths’ and he pursed his lips to hold back a snort.

Ignoring the indignant whines, the Headmaster continued.

“Your task is to collect one of sixteen relics at an ancient temple with your companion, then reach the rendezvous point, as shown on your Scrolls. You can’t recover a relic if you don’t have a partner, doing so is an automatic disqualification,” Ozpin let the threat linger before resuming, “The only classes of Grimm you _should_ meet are Fledglings and Transitioners – Hard Dust Shields (HDSs) surround this section of the woodlands, they prevent higher class Grimm from interrupting your initiation. Should you pass through one, there’s a high chance you’ll die.”

Eyes wide like saucers, Jaune’s mind ran wild with morbid images of his pitiful demise. Staff holding satchels passed them out to the students, ending the Arc’s violent thoughts.

“If Grimm leaves behind bones, you are more than welcome to collect them and exchanged them for Lien, even if you don’t pass.”

Once everyone had their bags on Ozpin asked:

“Are there any questions?”

Jaune raised his hand, “Uh Sir?”

“Good! Now step onto the launch pads and prepare your landing strategies.”

Rose and Valkyrie were the first to go. The anticipation brewing within the smaller boy was a sparkling form of energy. It tingled through him like electrical flashes on the way to the ground, gathering in his toes. Before he knew it he was crouching low, hand on Crescent Rose, ready to fling hundreds of feet into the air. Yang flicked on her aviators, her stance much more relaxed than the bundle of energy next to her. 

Terror owned Jaune.

A muscle twitched at the corner of his right eye, his mouth formed a rigid grimace. With arms folded across his chest, he tapped his foot and all the while stared at the greenery, teeming with life and hordes of Grimm. The sunny morning would either be the start of his life or the end. Cold sweat glistened on his furrowed brow. And he had done nothing yet!

Then the first canon boomed. The orchestra awoke once more.

Jaune continued to speak once Ozpin activated the panels, “When you say the barriers ‘should’ keep the Grimm out, do you mean- “

“Yes,” Ozpin sipped his drink.

The remaining students faltered in their stances, tasting the inkling of fear that Jaune felt.

Anxious, Arc asked: “Yes, as in ‘advanced Grimm could enter’ or yes as in ‘the barriers should hold up’?”

That smile popped up again. Only the Gods know what for, but everyone (save Glynda) believed he found the situation... funny? Heck, the Vice-Principle was smirking to herself too, the staff at Beacon had gone mad. They had no time to process the information as one by one; the pads launched them into the air.

Giddy but calm, the Headmaster assured them: “Don’t fret, Mr Arc, I control the HDSs from my Scroll-Tab, the barriers will remain secure.”

Relief washed over them before: “Until I don’t want them to be.”

For the first time since meeting him, Ruben heard him have a proper belly-aching chuckle. 

_‘I’m not so pumped anymore.’_

Too late to regret, the launchpad had flung the black and red wonder into the sky as Ozpin hummed a “Good Luck,” to Jaune.

The teenager fumbled to draw Mors and extended Crocea, but the cannon had boomed and he went flying, screaming like a madman - terror on his face.

The two professors watched the prospective Hunters fly over the woods. It was a day that even a feather would fall without drifting. The grass was straight and silent, leaves poised as if they had been painted there. A person could feel the beating of a bird’s wings.

It was still.

“That never gets old for you, does it?”

Sipping that blasted mug of his, the Head of Beacon grinned at his dear friend.

“Never, Glynda.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know these kinds of cliffhangers were annoying in the show as they are here but the next set of chapters are content rich, I promise! For this chapter, I was continuing the previous chapter focus on characterisation and how the relationships work.


	4. Knights & Ladies (PART I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our first set of partners meet in the intense Beacon Academy Initiation. Our foolish Knights and pristine Ladies!
> 
> Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes, 35 seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That tag I use to show the date and location of the characters is going to change. I will continue putting down the location but I will stop putting the dates. The exceptions will be the start of a new arc, important events or a change in month/season/moon cycle. 
> 
> Götter Verdammt = Gods Damn it

* * *

#  **VALE: EMERALD FOREST**

#  **Southern Region**

* * *

Akoúo and his mistress, Pyrrha Nikos, crushed branch after trunk with their weight and force. Determined and vigilant, the half-Mistralian rolled to a stop, scoping the grounds. The taste of a new season filled the air. Most would use it as a chance to relax, to revel in the shy sun after four months of bitter winds.

Not her.

No. Today, supreme focus was key. Today was the day she'd prove her mother wrong. That choosing Beacon over Atlas was not a mistake, but a step closer to her destiny.

* * *

_“Why are you upset? Beacon Academy is the most prestigious Hunter school in all of Remnant!”_

_“Don’t raise your voice at me, young lady. You have no idea about what is good for you. It’s best to go to Atlas, I thought we decided-”_

_“What **you** decided, Mother. In passing as a suggestion - you never even asked!”_

_Pandora studied her teen while pure fury brewed within. She spent the past hour presenting any ideas to make her reconsider. The teenager shot all of them down. Defiant and stubborn; two traits that she never would’ve attributed to her daughter._

_Great Atalan, she despised it._

_As much as she worshipped Tessa, the Atlesian wished that her traits were the ones that their baby wouldn’t inherit. Alas, here she was. The Matriarch rose from her chair; the silence permeating from her to the lavish lounge. Shoulders tensed and tongue heavy, Pyrrha stood motionless, holding her ground._

_“I must achieve my destiny, I want to be a Huntress.” The teen gazed into the green orbs baring down on her, “I can’t become one in Atlas, you know that, Mother.”_

_A tiny smile spread on the parent’s lips – her daughter playing a fine hand against her. Nikos never expected the girl to use that very rhetoric to defend herself. Her baby was learning. At the very least, she should reward her for that._

_The elder Nikos nodded, “Very well.”_

_Pyrrha’s inner child skipped along in her mind. If she weren’t standing in front of her strict parent, she’d skip too._

_“However.”_

**_‘Never mind.’_ **

_“You will contact me or your Mama every two weeks. The only exception is if you’re dead or in comatose. Next, you will be formal in all situations. Outside these walls you represent our family; any antics that sully us and I’ll take you out by force. Your grades will stay at their peak, behaviour perfect, combat performance at its best - unless you’re sponsoring.”_

_“Sponsoring?” the girl swallowed the twinge of fear when Nikos glared at her, “How can I-”_

_“You must maintain your reputation, if you can’t manage it, then-”_

_“No!”_

_Pyrrha protested once again, albeit more subdued, snapped back into her sophisticated persona,_ _“I’ll try to find a balance between work and school.”_

_“You won’t ‘try’, Pyrrha, you ‘will’.”_

_“Yes, Mother.”_

_The Atlesian growled, **“Götter Verdammt!"** into her gloved fist before dialling Tessa._

_“My love? Our baby is going to Vale… No, it’s not for advertising.”_

* * *

Sharp clicks of a rifle and the terrified screams from a spinning red blur a few metres away, snared Nikos’ attention.

“Ruben!”

_‘Oh Gods, why didn’t I reload in the locker room?!’_

The thought rattled in Rose’s mind as the woodland floor drew closer. Jaune flew past him in a similar situation. He would’ve helped his flailing friend, but without a platform to launch off to activate his Semblance, he was useless. Even to himself, the boy risked his life – the collision would shatter his Aura. And with the woods chalked full of Grimm, his likeliness of survival looked, well… grim.

If he weren’t about to die, he also would’ve wiggled his wolf’s ears. There were many things he would’ve done, but he was quite busy falling to his death.

He exhaled, “Goodbye cruel world.”

Before Pyrrha knew it, Miló (in Akon mode) shot out of her palm towards the Faunus, trailing him through the foliage. Green orbs scanned the shrubbery for a time until a heavy thud echoed in the distance.

“Thank you!”

“I’m sorry!”

* * *

Should she save him? Or cut her losses and leave him to die? The Professors wouldn’t know if she ignored him, would they?

“SOMEBODY HELP ME!”

Weiss sighed as she grazed her index and middle fingers along Myrtenaster’s blade, which summoned an angled glyph. Jaune slammed into it, tumbling into another. Blank faced; she watched him roll off her platforms with pained grunts for a long five minutes until Arc flopped onto the ground.

He peered up, propping his chin on his palm with a saucy grin.

“Well, well, well; I know that I’m irresistible, but there was no need to – Hey, wait!” Arc scrambled to a stand then hung his head. The heiress had stormed off the instant he lifted his dopey face, “We’re supposed to be teammates.”

Weiss’ jaw twitched at the concept of lumping up with him - To Hell with Ozpin’s rule! She was certain that a more civilised and proficient partnership was possible out there.

A gasp resounded above her. She peeked up.

Ruben Rose, pinned to a cliff-face from his sash by a spear, beamed a smile as his hands reached towards her.

“Friend!”

She backtracked, scorning the boy’s canine whimper. Rose’s ears flopped.

“But… _friend_.” 

He frowned at Weiss’ callous rejection. His silver orbs flickered over the trees, reflecting on the reasons why he could have deserved it.

_‘Maybe I should’ve stayed while she and Yang were fighting. Should I apologise for tripping on her? I broke my promise to her again! Is she mad about that? Oh, man; why are people so difficult?’_

The spear between his legs caught his attention instead; questions about Weiss quickly forgotten. Memories that came with his passion for forging played in his mind (induced by the copious volume of blood running to his head) - the hours he spent with his Uncle Qrow teaching him how to make his beloved Crescent Rose. Weapons were much simpler than people: all they required was love, and in return, you get a sturdy, awesome tool. No social expectations or ridicule if you yell at it without meaning to. No beating you down or calling you mean things if you mess up. Just the tool and its wielder dancing with those that conspire against them.

_‘What else do I need?’_

“Ruben?” a voice called. Pyrrha wandered out of the canopy. She crossed her arms, tilting her head. Her grin grew playful as she said, “Is Miló still in your good graces?”

Rose crossed his arms, furrowing his brows, “Less than before, he hurt my sash.”

“I’ll make sure he pays dearly for it.” 

“Good.” he pointed a stern finger at her, “This wasn’t cheap, you know!”

A giggle emerged from her as the younger boy wiggled to free himself. Nikos moved closer, and he held a palm up.

“I’ve trained from the age of seven on how to take down beasts twice my size. My family is full of elite Hunters that have decimated hordes of Superior Class Grimm, and I have been ready for Beacon from the _moment_ I was born. This is just a (beautiful) simple spear, I will handle it!”

She squinted, waving a hand for him to do so. Three minutes of squirming and huffing later, he bowed his head, face tined red with exhaustion.

“You seem to struggle with that ‘simple spear’ of mine.” Pyrrha mused.

“I can do it!”

Ruben attempted pulling himself off one more time before conceding. Puppy-like eyes gazed at her, his Xiao Long pride too steadfast for him to ask aloud. The Mistralian Champion smirked but didn’t budge. The Faunus sighed.

“Please help?”

Chuckles became full-blown laughs as the Champion stepped closer towards her partner. Even if it was at his expense, the butterflies in Ruben’s tummy craved to listen to that sound of joy a little longer. In the background, they heard two voices, recognising them as Arc and Schnee:

_“Try anything funny and I’ll castrate you.”_

_“You came back!”_

Rose and Nikos glanced at each other before busting out in hysterics.

_‘This will be a great partnership.’_ Both redheads mused to themselves.

* * *

“What’s the problem, Snow Angel?”

Rolling her eyes, Weiss knew that this will be a terrible partnership. She prayed the next four years would go smoothly if the blonde idiot didn’t get her expelled or force her to drop out.

The girl pointed a stern finger at him, “There are many, Arc! One, I am stuck with you for the lesser half of a decade. Two, you’re taking your sweet time walking to the temple while we’re on a time limit. And three…” ice-blue eyes wandered around, “Well… I’m not sure what the third one is, but it’s there!”

Jaune ran a hand through his locks, appearing humbled by Weiss’ frustration.

“Okay,” he wrung his hands, not a hint of flirtation in his tone, “I know you think pairing with me sucks, but nothing's saying we can’t make the best of it. We’re both swordsmiths, so that’s progress already!”

Schnee crossed her arms and raised a brow, “How good are you with your sword?”

He puffed out his armoured chest, “I don’t mean to brag, Snow Angel, but-”

"I just discovered the third reason." With a huff, the girl turned away and continued marching. She heard him call out, _“I’m decent! It was a joke, come back!”_ but she dismissed it.

Arc watched her retreating form somberly. Their partnership was going to be tough, but he hoped that they could make it work.

If she didn't cut off his jiggly bits first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe I saw on Reddit (Also OniRinku has it in their PWRY story) where the Hunters are ranked to match with the Classes of Grimm. S-Class Hunters take on S and A-class Grimm. The ancient Grimm are dealt with by Elite Hunters. I'll edit the Lore Guide on 'Before Beacon' after this arc. I'm going to divide Hunter rankings further into Unions that specialise in different sectors: special operatives, hired hands, relief workers, espionage, town defenders, etc.
> 
> Also, Atlesians speak German and/or French. I might have Pyrrha and Weiss speaking it later.


	5. Ninjas & Brawlers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our second set of pairs in the Beacon Initiation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes, 51 seconds
> 
> These 4 will not be getting a part 2. They are the example of what Jaune, Weiss, Pyrrha and Ruben *should* be doing and since they all have great dynamics with their partners, there isn't much else to write. Which is also why this chapter is so long.

* * *

# VALE: EMERALD FOREST

# Southern Region

* * *

A blonde bombshell soared above the Emerald Forest. All that stopped her from being pulverised was the propulsion of Ember Celica. But fiery adrenalin ran laps in her blood, and there was no way in Hell that her smirk would disappear. Her mane maintained its windswept fashion, defying the laws of the world. Gunshots thundered across the woodlands and she performed a perfect flip after each one. The mundane worries of her life vanished. No need to care while flying and 20 shotgun bullets keeping you afloat. No worrying about the past, no anxiety about the future. In a great warrior-yell, she dashed towards the sunshine with air beneath her feet, eyes wide and grin growing wider.

“Birdy, no!”

Until she hurled into a bird.

As she spat out crow feathers, she banged into a tree trunk. Then into a branch. And another and a few more…

She came to a sudden break, collapsing in a bush. Pain rippled through her body while her Aura took its sweet time healing the bruises. Xiao Long fixed her aviators and gasped a pained:

“Nailed it.”

* * *

Ren smirked to himself, internally questioning his sanity as he expected Nora’s great ‘Sloth Alert’.

Malachite grass brushed his thighs. The shrubberies are khaki over the bark, kissed with moss; on their shaded sides grows lichen as if thrown there like powdered paint, so softly green as to be close to white. This hug of nature around him brought back memories of the Mistralian wildlands, the periods spent with Nora by his side. Fighting off monsters from villages because Mistral’s Hunter-For-Hire prices were outrageous. Picking berries and praying they were harmless. Being each other’s only source of-

_Hiss._

From the dark emerged the sound of heavy limbs being dragged over the woodland floor. Whatever it was, it was massive. Either it pulled its feet or a tail through the undergrowth. Occasionally, a cracking noise like bone on wood - a thick skull crashing into a trunk - would knock in his ear. This beast was neither lithe, graceful, nor blessed with sharp vision.

If Lie’s assumption was true, it couldn’t see at all.

He hesitated, debating if he should activate his Aura. Pros and Cons argued against themselves: the creature wasn’t aware of him, not yet, and his Aura will alarm them. What’s its Class? Could he survive if he took it on? What will happen to Nora if not?

_“The only classes of Grimm you should meet are Fledglings and Transitioners.”_

His decision was final.

Pink light glossed over his frame and tranquillity occupied his mind.

And the beat burst from the foliage. A transitioning B-Tijitu (bones too soft and shiny to be a full one).

It’s small, fast, blind, and unfamiliar to its new strength. It pranced in unruly motions, circling the glade-turned-arena as it lingered for the prime chance to strike. But Ren’s Semblance obscured him, nullifying the smell of his aura and hid any negative emotion it needed to feed off. Instead, it secreted chaos into the air. A power exclusive to serpent Grimm, Ren noted. The temptation to cower and fear or lash out in desperation prodded at his consciousness.

However, the Grimm was new to this skill – it was just annoying.

With a power like his, it wouldn’t affect him. Why should he worry?

The southern Mistralian exhaled, whipping out Storm Flower. The beast battered its head against a stump before slithering towards Ren.

This will take a while.

* * *

# MENAGERIE JUNGLE OUTBACK

# (Six Years Ago)

* * *

“I hate it here!”

“You made that quite clear, Kit.”

“Why did you drag me here then? Lia loves this place, you should’ve brought her.”

Adam shook his head and relaxed on the sandy, bark-ridden floor. Eleven-year-old Blake stared at his sibling but relented when he gave no response. They spent a minute taking in the jungle: all her whispers and activity. Sunlight peaked through the towering trees and the damp atmosphere frizzed their hair. Now that they paused, Blake noticed the rare wonders of Menagerie’s wilderness.

_‘Still hate it though.’_

“You see now?”

“No.”

The lone blue eye glared at the young deadpan face. Then Adam plucked out a wristband, composed of crimson and pale beads strung through black cords. Taurus marked the accessory with his sweaty palms.

“Back in the day,” he started, “Faunus tribes travelled to forests and exchanged marked jewellery. It showed others that another that they protected the person and there will be consequences for wronging them.”

Blake’s ears quivered as his head tipped, “Why in a forest?”

Adam rubbed a horn, “It’s the best way to connect with our Faunus ancestors. For centuries, we thrived in them, long before Humans infested them with their presence. It was our domain, our sanctuary. That’s why we have burials, weddings and other celebrations in woods and jungles instead of churches – so our forbearers can observe and bless us.”

As Blake opened his mouth to say something, Adam held a palm up to shush him. The elder brother held in a deep breath then delivered his piece.

“By the valour of Ozma and his siblings, I anoint this band. May the barer know that by my shoulder I shall defend thee, my scent shall shelter thee from harm and my fire will light their way in times of darkness. Upon this band, I grant thou my heart and loyalty, a place in my Corral. With my forefathers as my witnesses, Blake Belladonna, I dub thee as my baby brother by blood and right-hand man.”

Obviously, he flew off track with the last part, but little Belladonna didn’t feel any less special. His hackles lifted as Adam presented the bracelet. Faunus don’t make a habit of making their essence so potent unless they were marking their territory. Ghira always reminded them to stay away from those areas, but this was his big brother.

Trust moved effortlessly between them.

Blake stuck out his arm and let the bull Faunus fix it on.

“There,” he said, smirking, “Now you have a reason not to despise the forest so much.”

A grimace marred the Panther Faunus’ expression. He waved his hands in a ‘so-so’ gesture, causing the bull to release a sardonic chuckle.

* * *

# VALE: EMERALD FOREST

# (Present Day)

* * *

Perched in a tree, the molten gold eyed teen stared at the gift from long ago.

_‘Fire to guide me through the darkness, huh? Let’s see what I get.’_

Gambol Shroud, in chain scythe form, swung the secret Faunus across the canopy. Muscles and eyeballs strained because of the brisk spring wind lashing his face and the effort it took to swing one’s body weight.

This wasn’t an issue for Belladonna.

White Fang training programs ensured that all recruits could traverse wild terrains no matter how nature specialised their heritage. Painful hours spent on meditation and bodybuilding led to the skilful combatant Blake became. Few could match his speed and grace-

**“YOU MONSTER!”**

* * *

## 5 MINUTES EARLIER

* * *

Yang strolled through the woods, her previous nonchalance replaced with slight worry. Ruben’s wellbeing plagued her the longer she searched for him. For a moment, she regretted telling him to find someone else to partner with. Stars know that loves her baby brother, but she needed space to be free, to be more than his surrogate mother.

Something she shouldn’t be.

Honestly!

By the age of seventeen, she’s:

  1. Raised her autistic brother since she was _eight_ and is still doing so.

  2. Looked after her _father_ while he took his sweet time… “ _recovering_ ”.

  3. Searching for her birth mother, who abandoned her for Maidens’ know what reason.

  4. _Still_ talking to her dead one like a weirdo because therapy in Vale is too expensive for a teen working part-time to afford.

  5. Has to balance school, work _and_ family like a madwoman with no support.

(Well, a bit of support. Qrow still sent cash and babysat when available.)

  6. Praying that the police won’t come after her for either for trashing Junior’s club (she apologised, promise) or for the illegal Grimm hunting she did while at Signal, trying to provide for her family.




_Gods_ , it never ends! There’s always something happening with this crazy family of hers. One pops in and out of their lives, another has mental problems. Ops, someone died! Oh well, leave it to someone else to deal with the fallout. What? They can’t cope? Dump it on the eldest child, they can handle it.

Maybe her mother dodged a bullet by jumping ship.

_‘Damn, this isn’t the time to think about that. The Hell was I doing when I told him that?! Now he’s Gods-know-where with Maidens-know-who and noway for me to calm him down. He isn’t ready for this yet. What if he freaks out or thinks I’m mad at him? Double damn - what if he has a meltdown?!’_

The blonde stopped to caress her hair. Heat wafted to her surroundings and sweat pooled in her clenched palms.

_‘How did you do it, Mom?’_

_**“Chin Up and Keep Moving Forward, Sunshine.”** _

_‘Right. Deep breaths Yang, now’s not the time to lose your mind.’_ she giggled to herself _, ‘All this silence is getting to me.’_

Twigs snapped nearby as she moved.

“Hello? Is someone there?”

Faunus hearing or not, anyone could hear it and the heavy steps that followed. Yang deliberated on the possibilities: both Crescent Rose and her master weighed a lot together. Plus, Ruben had an awful habit of stomping everywhere; Qrow likened him to a Tin Soldier during training (he preferred ‘Knight’ but accepted the comparison). It could be him.

“Ruben?”

The girl took her chances; what’s life without a minor risk?

Three deep breaths and a smile later, Yang turned towards a bush. It shook violently and not a peep emerged from it, but the stomps ended there. She spread the shrubs apart.

“Pup, is that you?”

Thick, black fur claimed her vision. Tiny bones powdered the beast’s rear and forehead, and glowing demon orbs gazed into her soul. Then another set of burning eyes joined it.

“Nope.”

Flailing out of the foliage, the beasts (Fledgling Ursai) swiped at the Huntress. In a flash, Yang dodged the attack as Ember Celica expanded into its full form. A sharp jab to the stomach and a hook to the face knocked the oncoming Grimm away. She backflipped from another attack leading into a quick kick to an Ursa’s muzzle. The Hunter and the beasts paused their fight, the latter circling the former.

Despite being outnumbered, Yang smirked.

“Hey there! I’m looking for my baby bro, have you ladies seen him?” They prowled further and Yang stepped back, arms raised, “My bad didn’t mean to assume, you could be beautiful gentlemen. Anyway,” She leaned on one side and gestured Ruben’s short height, “He’s yay high, covered in red and black (boy _needs_ to change his wardrobe) and has cute little wolf’s ears - you can’t miss him!”

One roared before charging at her.

“Geez, if you haven’t just say so!”

Xiao Long began a series of flips without care, avoiding every clumsy claw or lunge. Her eyes squinted in mirth as a chuckle left her lips.

“You guys are hopeless, you don’t know where Ruben is and you can’t land a hit on Lil’ old-”

A single lock of golden hair drifted to the ground.

Limp, pathetic and weak. Sliced from its sisters, never to be brushed or cared for again.

Knuckles turned white from clenching her fists, and she gritted teeth to remain silent. Her hunched form exuded an animosity that was like acid - burning, slicing, potent. The flames in her stomach swelled to her chest and, crawling through her veins, took over the rest of her body. Waves of fury rolled off her as the blood rose to her cheeks. The term ‘anger’ never even touched the tip of the volcano she was in that moment. She closed her eyes.

“You…”

When she opened them, lilac made way for a fierce red. Heat eclipsed the area as her mane burned bright like a bonfire.

**“YOU MONSTER!”**

If hatred was visible, the air would be scarlet. Then a rage-filled scream as the huntress through the first punch of many. The young woman rained strikes onto the nearest Ursa. She intended to smash it into the very earth. Each punch didn’t want the opponent dead, they wanted them smashed, obliterated, nothing left to bury. Mid way, furious hands snatched the demon bear’s head, burying her fingers into its plush neck. Shoulders strained and thighs tensed, Xiao Long swung the demon bear in three great flaming circles. A booming growl, as animalistic as the monster in her grasp, swelled in her chest and released as a mighty roar. In tandem, the poor Ursa flew deep into the forest, demolishing a dozen trees in its path.

Yang turned, and red met red. One angry, the other somewhat scared.

“What? Feeling left out?!”

Maybe it had a death wish, or perhaps it lacked enough brain cells to think about this decision, but the remaining Grimm charged toward the flaming goddess either way.

**“COME GET SOME!”**

In that split second before the last punch, every nerve in her body and brain electrified. The anticipation of landing that fatal strike landed on her tongue and hardened her stomach. Closer and closer the bear got, and her bicep grew taught in kind. The combatants braced themselves, ready to-

A pistol chain scythe flew past her ear and lodged itself into the Ursa’s exposed skull. It wobbled, flailing its limbs around until a single yank of the tool brought the beast down. Heavy breathing dominated the sounds of the canopy or a minute (if you ignore the crackling of fire and collapsing trees) while bewildered red eyes trailed up the ribbon joined to the weapon before flicking away at the sight of a hand. She inhaled and willed the embers of her rage to simmer down. Despite it all, the blonde expressed a cheeky smile while leaning on her hip.

“I could’ve taken him.”

In a quick yank (heh), the wielder sheathed the pistol and replied: “I’m sure you could have.”

_‘Ah, the Nightshade guy found me - better play this smart before I commit to anything.’_ Yang flicked her sunglasses on, while Blake stared at her back.

“Until I know that this will work,” she announced, “our partnership is temporary.”

Blake, now tinted brownish-black from the specs, pursed his lips, “Are you allowed to-”

A half-gloved pressed against his nose, “Until _I know_ , Nightshade.”

Amber orbs squinted and his lips formed an ‘o’ shape - as if he wanted to ask “who?” - instead he asked:

“And how, _pray tell,_ will you avoid this being permanent? We’ve already seen each other.”

“Dude, this entire time I’ve been staring at your dope cap - not once did I make eye contact with you, so, by Ozpin’s rules, we aren’t partners yet.”

Blake caressed said hat while Yang tapped her temple after each syllable as she said:

“Big. Brain. Moment.”

Deadpan, Nightshade asked: “Where am I supposed to look, then?”

He regretted asking when Yang’s cheery demeanour became devious.

“That’s obvious; you can look at my luscious, bountiful, voluptuous…”

They stared at each other; the boy tempted to dismiss this meeting and walk away with his pride intact.

“Hair.”

Blake released a long-suffering sigh, however, it couldn’t hide the glimmer of amusement on his lips, “Of course, how silly of me.”

“Simple mistake, my dear.”

Rolling his eyes, Blake took out the Beacon provided Scroll and compass out of the backpack. Once the Scroll opened, the map of the Emerald Forest appeared with the temple marked as a red dot. In the text bar, the instruction to **‘Head North’** popped up in bold. Discretely as possible, he sniffed out the smell of old metal and new moss growing on ancient stones that travelled on the wind. It matched the path the compass set.

He turned to Yang, glaring at her golden mane, “The temple is that way - ready to go, temporary partner?”

“Now, you’re getting it!” she marched passed him towards the location, “I’m sure this will be an _eye-opening_ experience for us both.”

Silence. Yang didn’t even stop to revel in her pun, aware of how… _smooth_ it was (if her sudden sassy walk and flick of her hair was anything to go by). 

_‘Did she even mean it that time?’_ Blake shook his head. A mix of a huff and laugh escaped him while he followed her, _‘Best not to question it - rather not provoke her into punning me to death.’_

* * *

# MEANWHILE

* * *

**“I’M COMING, REN!”**

The Mistrali couldn’t be bothered to glance up, knowing his ginger bestie will give him room to breathe. What he didn’t account for was the 400kg Brown Bear she was charging in on – then again, what idiot would expect anything less than crazy out of Nora Valkyrie?

He gawked, hand gripping the viper tooth in a loose grip as the girl, her bear, and the demon snake dance around the sunlit glade.

The animal reared up to swipe at the diving Grimm’s neck; four lengthy crimson streaks tore across its neck. It screamed, flailing its head upwards in dramatic patterns, giving time for Valkyrie to bounce from her companion’s back and into the sky.

Ren noticed what she intended to do and wobbled into position – channelling his Aura through the tooth.

In three perfect spins, Nora descended and slammed Magnhild upon the Tijitu’s snout. Uncaring of the shallow crater formed by the impact, Ren threw the makeshift weapon into the creature’s eye and ran after it. Not even a grunt passed his lips as he slammed his palm on it, his Aura providing enough force to rupture the Grimm’s head in a soul-shaking blast.

The Brown Bear roared at the corpse as the Hunters-in-training gathered the scattered bones in the area, unfazed by the battle.

“You know, that doesn’t look or sound like a sloth.”

Nora gestured towards the adorable sight of the animal pawing at the snake’s body, “Who cares about those slowpokes, when you’ve got this enormous ball of cuteness!”

Despite his serene expression, joy spread on his lips, “Does that mean I can accidentally shoot you then?”

“Of course not!”

While most would find their conversations weird, this was standard for this Mistralian duo and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Nora stretched out a finger and poked his nose.

“Boop.”

Ren shook his head, “What’s his name?”

He should’ve told her to send it away, or leave it behind, but it was a dope bear and he had enough common sense to not… poke the bear and upset them both. Besides, that word was the crippling truth that he couldn’t stop her from keeping the bear – Beacon better have a makeshift stable somewhere.

“Loki!”

“I expect nothing less.”

The ground trembled as a King Tijitu (no doubt the parent of the dead one not three feet away from the humans) burst from the ground. As blind as its baby, it sensed for Arua and painful emotions but found its own instead. Its scaly snout prodded at the stiff, headless body of the younger Grimm - it did so for a while. Meanwhile, the duo snuck on to Loki doing their best to stop the bear from uttering a sound, attempting to back out.

But this was a King Tijitu. Its title was well earned - it mastered all other senses unlike its kin to compensate for its lack of sight and the scent of Grimm blood (Iquor) reeked of the trio.

"Ren?"

"Nora, start running."

"On it," she dug her heels in Loki's sides, "Ride like the wind!"

And the chase began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the idea that Grimm should induce negative emotions from this amazing Reddit post by Emperor_Luffy (it's quite long): https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBY/comments/jlkeqp/analysis_ruby_rose_the_power_of_horror_writing/
> 
> EDIT: I just looked at my notes and I realised I had forgotten important set up for the next chapters, my bad.
> 
> That fight with Ren, Nora, Loki and the Tijitu was kind of lame. Writing combat scenes for characters who aren't Ruben is difficult as all Hell. With him, I just have to listen to the soundtrack, then I can visualise it. I can't do the same for the others because his fights should feel distinctive. Perhaps I should stop doing that - what do you guys think?


	6. Knights & Ladies (PART II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to our helpless and adorable duos. Ozpin, the old trickster that he is, puts everyone's skills (and their patience) to the limit for 20 Lien...
> 
> This is a long chapter to make up for the lack of updates. As a bonus, the next 2 are going to be more action-packed (finally)!
> 
> Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes

# VALE: EMERALD FOREST

# Jade Cliffs

* * *

“How are the children, Glynda?” Ozpin asked as he sipped his hot chocolate.

He gripped his cane tight and tapped his toes. Though he seemed nonchalant, Glynda recognised her friend’s nervous ticks. This year would be different (outside of enrolling a 15-year-old, which the Hunter’s Assembly would _never_ allow); the Head of Beacon was prepping for something and she hoped he would clue her in soon. Alas, it takes a while to get straight answers out of Willis Ozpin, and she knew better than to ask. Severe headaches and agonising hours fretting over/deciphering his riddles were not worth it. With a sigh, the Deputy pulled out her Scroll-Tab to announce the data.

“We have two new pairs, sir: first is Nora Valkyrie with Lie Ren.” she tutted and flexed her jaw, “Poor lad, I can’t see how they’ll get along.”

Oz swirled his drink with an absent stare, “I believe the two share and troubled past - while I want them to experience life away of each other for a while, perhaps it’s for the best.”

Goodwitch pursed her lips, and her boss waved his cane to urge her on while a tiny smirk washed over his visage.

“The next pair is Blake Nightshade and Yang Xiao Long-Rose. She latter works under the impression that _she_ can decide when the partnership happens.”

“Like a certain Schnee.”

The blonde hummed then cringed, “Speaking of which, I can’t help but feel sorry for the girl.”

“Why?” For the first time since the conversation started, the Headmaster gave Glynda his full attention, “Ruben is skilled beyond his age group, has a good head on his shoulders (more or less). With the right amount of effort, he-”

Willis took in Glynda’s visible confusion and ended his praises.

“Sir,” she began slowly, as if he was a senile old man, “Ruben partnered up with Pyrrha Nikos about twenty minutes ago.”

_‘Perhaps I am going senile - shame, I liked the sharpness of this life.’_

Knocking himself out of his muses, Ozpin savoured his brew and commented, “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Glynda’s green eyes squinted at him but she refrained from asking, “She was quite eager to find him, from what I can tell. Anyway, Ms Schnee joined with Jaune Arc.”

The Vice-Principle’s growl drew his attention once more, “I don’t care what his grandfather or his transcripts claim, the boy is not ready for this level of combat.”

“He hasn’t done anything for you to say that, yet!”

Quiet and stern, Goodwitch raised a brow and leaned on her hip, daring him to question her.

Oz waved a finger at her, “Now, now, old friend; I haven’t changed the game, we shouldn’t quick make assumptions. Either way, 10 Lien says that Mr Arc will knock your socks off.”

“Ozpin, please - I am a professional…” she stated while looking at her device. A laugh almost escaped her as she watched Jaune get whacked with a thin branch. “Make it twenty.”

“You’re on.”

Two Beacon students brought camping chairs for the professors. Once they left, Willis and Goodwitch sat down and fished for 10 Lien each, then threw the cards in between each other. The woman’s expression told Oz she was more than confident in the odds, but it wavered when he plucked out his Scroll-Tab Pro™. His signature grin appeared as his fingers selected the HDS operator and flicked from _‘Fully Operational’_ to _‘Total Shutdown’_.

* * *

Jaune rubbed his cheek, wincing at the scar. As he whimpered, Weiss stared at him with growing frustration.

“It’s not that bad, you big baby. Just activate your Aura and let’s go.”

He froze for a second, stood up and waddled away - for once, passing by the Schnee without a comment. Anxiousness and anxiety covered his form, but Weiss couldn’t sense…

“Arc!”

He stalled his stride and took his time to face her, “Yes?”

Eyes closed and a hard sigh incoming, the heiress asked: “Do you or do you not have your Aura unlocked?”

Like a turtle, Jaune’s head sunk into his shoulders like a tortoise as he desperately tried to hide a grimace. Thirty seconds had passed, no response from the boy. Schnee tried again.

“Well? Do you?”

“I…” his ocean blues studied the foliage, actively avoiding his partner, “I know what it is - it’s a force field, right? That heals and protects us from damage for a while.”

It was a garbage answer, and he knew that (his cringe made it obvious). His nervous ticks played up under the heiress’ intense gaze. While he admired her beauty and didn’t mind her scathing comments (he found her sharp tongue rather attractive), he found her scrutiny to be unbearable. She was a princess, groomed to be a queen, looking down on his pathetic self, preparing to execute him.

Or worse, preparing to fulfil her promise to lob his jiggly bits off.

“Very good Jaune!” She clapped her hands, hopping in one spot with a massive fake smile on her face, “Now, can you tell me if you have it or not? Considering you could die without one, I suggest you-”

“I don’t, okay!” He flicked yellow locks out of his face before rubbing a palm, “Everyone in my family unlocked their Aura through stress activation. They barely know how it works themselves, they were self-taught Hunters. My Mom told me, ‘You’ll get it, someday’ and I never questioned her.”

And her sigh released.

“Why didn’t you pay for the ritual?” Weiss crossed her arms, her frown lifting a tad.

Jaune gaffed and waved his hands in wild gestures, “Have you _seen_ the price of Aura Rituals? Those scams cost a fortune! My grandad is a _war hero_ \- medals and all - but not even he could afford that!”

“You mean to tell me,” she began, holding back her rage, “You applied to train in one of the deadliest jobs on Remnant without the sole ability that allows us to survive all its dangers? The ability that makes the difference between life and death for a Hunter?”

At least he had the sense to sound sheepish, “Uh… yeah?”

Weiss glared at the ground and began ranting to herself. Despite the faintness of her grumbles, he heard her say, “That’s it; I’m gonna die here” and he slumped.

She peered up and beckoned him closer. Once he came in range, leaving as much room for Lord Ozma as possible, the Atlesian pressed a hand to his face and the other over his heart. A deep breath later (while ignoring the heat of his blushing cheek and his spluttering), her body glowed a brilliant ice blue. His body did the same until the colour switched from blue to a blinding white.

**“For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, unchain your might and free your destiny.”**

Weiss stumbled away and rested against a tree stump. The boy stepped closer, but a beep from his temporary Scroll took his attention. Taking it out, he saw his name and under it, a green bar flashed into existence. Weiss glanced up and explained.

“There, your Aura is unlocked.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I had to use more than I thought to release yours - you got a lot, so you shouldn’t die unless you’re stupid.” As she stood, she scanned over his form, “Unfortunately, your chances of survival are already looking slim. At least no one can say I didn’t try.”

Ouch.

Jaune brushed it off while she walked away. His thumb flicked the screen, and the name changed to his partner’s. A modest chunk of her green bar had disappeared. After noticing she was far ahead, he trailed behind her.

“So,” he started, “Will the amount you lost comeback?”

It took her a moment to understand what he meant, but once she did, she replied, “Maybe sometime this or next week; there _is_ a reason the Ritual is expensive, Arc. People must sacrifice their Auras to unlock another’s, some have died trying to do the ceremony - trained to perform it or not. Others don’t get back the Aura they lost; some don’t recover from the depression state. The only time where the best outcome is guaranteed is with the Mistrali, Vacuan and Vytalian monks. Even then, it took them decades to master this art form. The price is not a scam, it’s insurance.”

Awed, Jaune gazed at the heiress as she delivered the knowledge. Confident in and respectful of the information she shared. When Weiss allowed it, her tone would make anyone listen to her forever, if they weren’t begging to hear her sing.

Then her words sunk into his head.

“Wait,” he held her shoulder, much to her annoyance, “You risked your life and Aura for me?”

“Don’t mention it.”

As she turned away, Jaune tried halting her again, “No, really that’s-”

Her piercing glare struck his core as she hissed, _“Ever._ This _never_ happened, do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

Emerald green eyes bore into Ruben’s head, but he remained oblivious. Pyrrha held a look of confusion as she studied at her wild-haired partner.

_‘Something is not right here,’_ she mused to herself, her confusion seeping deeper, _‘He looks a bit too young to attend Beacon. Maybe it’s the height?”_

Ruben sneezed, blinked, and resumed his cheery gait. Sporadically, his canine ears flicked towards the noises of the canopy, which allowed his other senses to focus on everything else. Growing up in a woodland allowed him to be more in tune with his canine Faunus heritage - here, the boy was in his element. Pyrrha could tell that much, but some things weren’t adding up in her mind.

_‘It wouldn’t be rude to ask, would it? No, of course not. It’s a simple question. Maybe catch him out if not.’_

“Ruben, how old are you?”

“I’mmmmmmm,” he slurred before ending it with the click of his tongue, “Seventeen, like you and everyone else. What a silly question, that should be obvious - as if kids younger than seventeen can get into Beacon. Ha! That’s funny, _you’re_ funny. It’s not like you would know if Professor Ozpin enrolled a fifteen-year-old much sooner than the government would allow, that would be impossible. Ha, Ha, Ha!”

Hands on his hips in an awkward, heroic pose, he started laughing. The fake kind you’d see on old comic book cartoons after the superhero saved the day and his sidekick makes an unfunny joke and/or pun.

Somewhere in the distance, two professors performed the mightiest facepalm known to man.

Eyebrows furrowed, Pyrrha crossed her arms, “Are you-”

“No.”

The duo stared at each other for a minute (well, Rose stared _around_ her).

“Let’s go!” he yelled and scampered onwards.

_‘Well, that answers that. I wonder how he did it; I’m sure Ozpin has good reasons.’_

Gods, did she want to tease the Faunus, but she let it slide and placed a mental note for it later. Ruben, however, was freaking out.

_‘Oh man, oh man. She almost exposed me! What gave it away - I don’t look different from everyone else, I’m average height, I got a cool weapon; what could it be? It’s no problem, my lie should convince her. What if she doesn’t think I can handle it? I can though! Ozpin was right to bring me here, I earned it, I can do it!’_

“So,” Pyrrha started before Ruben yelled:

“I can do it!”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Her red ponytail shook as shrugged the odd comment off, “I wanted to know where you got trained.”

_‘This I can handle.’_

“I trained at Signal Academy, but my uncle Qrow taught me in weapons arts.”

“Qrow?” she mused, “As in Qrow Branwen, Elite Vale Huntsman, member of Team STRQ, killer of 31 Ancient Grimm? That Qrow, with a ‘Q’?”

Chest puffed out with pride, the younger teen beamed at her, “That’s the one! He’s so cool, he taught me everything about sword and scythe play.”

Ruben rambled on as Nikos lost herself in her thoughts.

_‘I wasn’t aware either Branwen twin were related to a Faunus. The only one on Team STRQ was Summer Rose… ah. That makes sense: the hood and general clothing style, the weapon, the eyes.’_ Her heart ached for her cherry-black-haired partner, _‘He’s mimicking her.’_

“Anyway, where were _you_ trained, Pyrrha?”

Keeping her gaze straight ahead, she explained: “I attended Sanctum Combat School, all the textbook knowledge to be specific. My mother taught me how to use a *Dory and hired instructors to teach me how to use a Xiphos and rifle. No interesting heritage for me, my birth mother is just an Atlesian officer and my mama is a weapons engineer.”

“I don’t see how that’s not interesting.” Rose mused, “Your moms have awesome jobs!”

Doubtful, she replied, “Really?”

He nodded, “One risks life and limb to serve her country, protect her ideals and culture, and was impressive enough to get a named rank. The other provides Hunters and the military with the means to defend civilization against the Grimm by using one of the coolest art forms ever!”

The girl paused, not expecting the answer. At most, she would expect praise about her humble beginnings or something along those lines.

“I- I never thought of it like that…”

“That’s okay, people have a nasty habit looking down on everything no matter how impressive it is. Putting things in this perspective lets you appreciate the stuff you have even if the world thinks little of it – it also helps with making choices, but that’s just me.”

Keeping the advice in mind for later (and admiring the wisdom that the boy shouldn’t have), Pyrrha pulled out the Scroll map and compass. For a while, the duo stared at the items without a clue on how to use them, until the Faunus opted to scout ahead and use his ‘super senses’ to see if he could find anything. She agreed as she attempted to follow the basic instructions on the map but still twirled around in circles, wondering where the Hell is ‘North’. The thought of using her Semblance to _make_ the compass say ‘North’ flashed across her mind (she double-checked that it was off, just in case).

_‘Imagine that: the great Pyrrha Nikos not being able to operate a map and compass.’_

As amusing as the thought was, her lack of understanding drained her patience. She hoped her partner was doing better on his end.

“Pyrrha!”

_‘Speak of the Witch.’_

Rose slid down from a tree but clung onto the trunk. A determined expression fixed on his face as he announced:

“I spoke to the spirits of the Forest and they told me their secrets in kind.”

“What?”

He slid down further, a little disappointed she didn’t play along, and gestured to a direction east of where they stood.

“There’s a damp, mossy smell coming from that way. I didn’t notice it before, but now it got stronger. It _smells_ ancient, maybe it’s a clue to the temple?”

“A clue?” she hummed, “What makes you say that?”

“Well, not everyone has experience with maps and not all schools teach map/compass reading – exhibit A” he pointed at her, much to her chagrin, “So the teachers would put some sort of hint to help people navigate: landmarks, scratches in the bark, etc.”

Seeing where he was going, she prompted him further, “Go on.”

_‘This is my chance!’_ his grin grew.

“We are looking for an ancient temple, it wouldn’t be too crazy to-”

“-to look for ancient landmarks to guide us. Great thinking, Ruben.”

Pure, boundless joy and pride lit his face at the compliment, and he led the way, the pep in his step even greater than before. The Mistrali had never been more thankful for having her mother’s intuition – a brilliant partner indeed.

* * *

“This cannot be real…”

Weiss stared in disbelief at the shameful display of… ‘combat’ atop a fallen Creeper Grimm.

Only a few minutes prior, she and Jaune were traversing through the forest towards the temple. Despite her very being telling her not to, she trusted him with the map and compass since “his Dad took him camping a lot for training”. She had no experience in it (which _will_ be rectified once school starts) so here they were, no temple in sight and the blonde assuring her they’re getting closer. Suddenly, two full formed B-Class Grimm – yes, the ones Ozpin said they would _not_ encounter – charged out of the foliage. Weiss assumed the idiot had led them to the barriers, but she knows what HDSs look like and she didn’t see any so far (unless Ozpin dropped them between the time of the Mission Brief and now).

Advanced opponents or not, Weiss prepared her battle stance and kept in mind Arc’s fearful murmurs about the weaknesses of the Grimm ahead. A Creeper was no Arma Gigas, it was a snitch in comparison. Poised with grace and dexterity, Schnee took out the creature within five minutes. Sure, a few trees were on fire (and it was spreading) and parts of the grass were both singed and iced over but the Grimm was dead – that’s the important part.

Then she looked over to her partner and was stunned into silence.

You see, Beacon was meticulous with its admission process (to Weiss’ understanding anyway). Faunus or Human, if you weren’t skilled or impressive enough, you can drag your mediocre ass back to a Combat School and pray you are part of the 63% of people that pass the Hunter Licensing Exam. Many war heroes, veterans, athletes, and Superior-Class-Grimm-Killers came from this school. It was the symbol of Vale’s national pride, a staple in World History, the last gift from the King of Vale to his people. It’s rumoured that it’s built on the burial ground of the great King Osydian and his knights, so that anyone who graduates from the school will leave a hero and silver forged warrior.

The school was the face of the Hunting profession.

So, looking at Jaune…

One could say he had obliterated her perception of the excellent standards of the school.

The boy uses his shield to protect his torso, despite having a breastplate and no defence for his legs and head. His grip on his sword is lax, his footwork was a mess, his timings and coordination are abysmal, and the only thing he has of merit is his decent strategy of targeting the beast’s unprotected and weak legs.

When she told herself ‘she was going to die’ with him as her partner, Weiss can admit to exaggerating.

Now it looks like an actual possibility.

Ten minutes of watching Arc flail around and the creature was dead. Jaune panted as if his lungs were about to give out before realising Weiss was watching with an astonished gaze.

“See, I am pretty decent. Impressed?” He puffed out his chest and held his head high.

“You have done the impossible,” Weiss blinked, “You have rendered me speechless. Truly, I have… _no_ words to describe what I just witnessed.”

* * *

Ozpin was a proper gentleman. Proper gentlemen don’t slouch.

But Twenty Lien was on the line, at least 4 bags of Hot Chocolate powder, and his faith in the only male Arc had been shaken.

“Knock my socks off indeed, Sir.”

Glynda’s smirk did not ease matters. Just this once, the man let himself sulk and sink into his seat. The woman leaned over to push the money closer to her, chuckling all the while. She rewound the footage to cackle and the sound would rise into the air and irate the Headmaster to no end.

_‘Come now, Mr Arc – I believe in you.’_

Glynda spoke up, “I wonder what I could get with this extra cash… Maybe an extra pair of socks, tea perhaps?”

Oz kissed his teeth.

“Tea sounds good, a good 4 boxes of it. What do you think, professor?”

_‘Don’t fail me, Arc.’_

With a pompous (and a bit bashful) smirk on his face, Jaune set to work removing the bones of the Grimm before any more arrived, oblivious to the heiress’ not-so-positive amazement.

“I guessed the Headmaster would drop the barriers, but I didn’t think the Grimm would show up so soon. Did you?”

No response.

“Weiss?”

“Huh?” she started, almost returning to reality, “Oh, um… your Aura. As I said, you have a lot, so it attracts the Grimm to you… yeah.” 

She turned away, not even taking the bones with her (not like she needed the extra cash) and Jaune scrambled beside her. Once they had the map out, they set off.

Had they lingered a little longer, they would have noticed sunlight reflecting off the white scales of a furious, red-eyed beast…

* * *

The red themed duo stood before a cave entrance. Crude drawings littered the outside with crumbling sandstone pillars decorating its ‘lawn’.

Pyrrha stepped closer to touch the paintings that illustrated people with spears attacking, then submitting to a large scorpion. They had to be pre historic unless there was a hidden tribe on the school grounds. Or if the older years put them there to spook the initiates. Ruben’s statement about it looking and smelling ancient was quite right, but no obvious clues showed up.

The mouth of the cave released a wave of dread over the red-head, however, noises from the foliage behind her stopped her on commenting on it. Two people walked out: a hulking, blue-eyed ginger in grey armour and a lithe male with a wild pale green mohawk.

Something didn’t quite settle with Pyrrha at the sight of the larger male, but she responded when he said:

“You got the same idea too, huh?”

“Actually, it was his idea.” She pointed at Ruben, who was uncharacteristically quiet. He gave a weak wave and turned away from the newcomers.

The taller boy’s scathing blue orbs hyper-focused on Rose’s canine appendages for a moment before he introduced himself, Cardin Winchester, and his partner, Russel Thrush. Nikos made way for the boys to study the site, tempted to grab Ruben and go before-

“Hey,” the skinner male began, “Cardin and I noticed another ancient site just a few yards that way. Let’s help each other out and check them to see if they’ve got any clues. We can meet back here after… ten minutes?”

Ruben perked up at the friendly tone, but his partner didn’t seem to keen.

“That’s nice of you, Mister Thrush, but-”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Ruben!”

He waved her off, “Pyrrha, we’ve only been in the forest for an hour, these guys aren’t competition for spots at Beacon yet.”

“It’s not that, it’s-”

He was already entering the cave. Schooling her face into a passive expression, she followed her partner, shrugging off the leering gazes of the shifty teens behind her. 

Cardin began walking away the moment the two were out of earshot.

“Where are you going?” Russel asked.

The ginger chuckled and used his mace to gesture at the cave drawings, “If the story those paintings are telling is right, then those two aren’t coming out – good thing too - at least Nikos will be spared sharing her room with a mongrel for the next four years.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, Ozpin and Glynda was so much fun to write - more than they should, considering that they're betting on children's lives. I have to thank Gardengrimm for inspiring me to make Glynda so... well, 'Glynda' (her interactions with James in RPBY are great).


	7. Fighting Battles (PART I)...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At long last, our heroes will finally reunite to take on their first big battle at Beacon and start their new lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Estimated Reading Time: 25 Minutes
> 
> Getting everyone to the Temple was much harder than I thought it was. So much was going on, my computer was being difficult and I was forced to split this chapter into two parts since the original version was nearly 40 MINUTES LONG! So, the next chapter is the Nevermore & Deathstalker vs The Kids (gonna be wild) and I might split the Team Formation assembly into 2 chapters.
> 
> Guys, don't worry, the 'Emerald Forest' Arc is almost over.

* * *

#  **IN THE CAVERN**

* * *

The Faunus stood, flaming torch in a fist, throwing a piece of flint into a puddle. The staff at Beacon gave them older models of the Scroll Series since they don’t come with a live GPS tracking feature to limit cheating. That also meant no LED flashlights. Sharp green eyes strained the dark, so the Mistrali relied on her friend’s superior vision. The temperature dropped as they delved further into the underground chamber, sending a fierce chill down their spines. Light reached neither wall nor ceiling, confining vision to a small circle of the flickering orange cast by the torch; inky black water sloshed against a narrow strip of land that disappears into the darkness, and jagged teeth of stone descend from the shadows above. Whoever – or whatever – produced it tunnelled for the softest soil, not giving a damn about how straight the line was.

“Ruben?” she continued once he grunted acknowledgement, “I’m not sure this is a good idea.” 

He lapsed, causing her to bump into him. After staring at the source of light in his gloved hands, he gestured to her with a grim expression. 

“But I made the...” 

“And it’s a wonderful torch, but I think that boy and his partner were lying. There’s nothing here.” 

He tutted at her before resuming his walk, unperturbed now by the damp stench filling his delicate nose, “You can’t think so little of our fellow Hunters, that isn’t right. They wanted to help us. If we can’t trust each other, then ordinary people can’t trust us and maybe...” 

For once, Pyrrha thanked her mother’s habit to nag and her brutal experiences with the paparazzi. It gave her the grand capacity to tune people out whenever they were talking nonsense. While she admired Rose’s wisdom so far, she realised that his bright outlook on life came more out of naivete than experience. She appreciates life, but the world is generally awful. He should’ve seen that from the way the Cardin-fellow glared at his twitchy ears... 

Ruben’s rambling ended when he almost tripped on a stalactite, “Man, I wish I had proper Faunus senses.” 

That caught her attention. 

“What do you mean by ‘proper Faunus’?” 

“My Dad’s a human,” Ruben explained, oblivious to Nikos’ shock, “My senses aren’t as heightened as my full-blood counterparts, even my ears are smaller than the average wolf Faunus.” 

As interesting as that factoid was, Pyrrha’s mind could only repeat his statement of weaker senses. 

_‘So, this whole time we were walking through this dangerous cave while both of us had poor visibility? Nope. Enough with being polite, I can’t risk our lives like this!’_

Pyrrha snatched his hood and march back the path they came. The abrupt and violent change in direction threw the younger teen off, causing him to stumble headfirst into her rear. Both unbalanced, the pair tumbled in a puddle and watch in slow motion as their only source of light joined them in the water with a devastating ‘plop’. 

Until now, Ruben’s mind concentrated on impressing his new friend. The music stayed quiet and cheery, with a piccolo leading the melody and the faint caresses of brass called for adventure. But that had died the second they entered the cave. Now, eerie strings purred. Scatting percussion instruments joined in, ones he never heard before. 

_‘Are those woodblocks? Balafons?’_ His smile widened at the fair of new instruments. 

_‘Hey, it almost sounds like...’_ his joy fell, _‘l-like... scuttling. Is that in my brain? Or-’_

Pyrrha interrupted his thought train, “Can you hear something running?” 

Puddles splashed in the blackness – something fast dashed over them. Spires fell from the roof while ones on the floor shattered under a great weight. Whooshes of air passed over them, sending gales over their sweaty skin. The scampering slowed down. 

“If I say no, will it go away?” 

Then it stopped. 

The music did too. 

* * *

#  **ELSEWHERE**

* * *

Blake and Yang emerged from the thicket unscathed and stood atop a modest cliff. A few feet away stood a monument, their target: The Temple. Its creators made it in a circular formation, using hulking granite stones and marble. Moss and vines draped the decayed walls, a sign of nature taking root and claiming its place once more. The once-grand pillars, chiselled with care and decorated with gold, lay crumpled on the grass. Only five of them lasted through the test of time. In fact, time and nature had destroyed most of the monument, save for the back portion housing the relics. It’s assumed the Beacon employees dismantled it for ease of access.

“Wait,” Yang babbled, “ _This_ was our task?” 

Nightshade faced her, “What were you expecting?” 

“I dunno, something harder? This is _Beacon_ , the most prestigious school in the Kingdom, Hunter Academy or not; shouldn’t the entrance test be more than a few Fledgling Grimm and a stroll through the woods?” 

He huffed a laugh and scaled his approach down, “Honestly? I’ll take it. Too lazy to impress right now – I can show how talented I am once I get in.” 

“Fair enough,” she shrugged and pursued him. 

* * *

#  **ELSEWHERE, ELSEWHERE**

* * *

“Jaune, tell me you’re not serious!” The white-haired girl whisper-yelled. 

Sweating and desperate to quiet his panting, the blonde nodded, “We have no choice – that thing is way beyond our skill level.” 

“And riding on a _Nevermore_ is safer? It’s transitioning into the King Class!” 

“Well, that Tijitu _is_ a King Class, so pick your poison woman!” 

The sleeping demon bird shuddered as the woods became too noisy for its liking. Somewhere in the background, a blind King Tijitu slammed against and knocked over trees, determined to devour two teenagers. The swordsmiths disengaged their Aura to throw off its tracking, but it wouldn’t last long. And they couldn’t run around the Grimm infested and unguarded forest without their only form of protection. 

Weiss exhaled, “If I die, I’ll kill you.” 

Jaune nodded, and they crept to the large Grimm. The atmosphere weighed on them and they had to suppress each impulse to switch on their Aura. Slower and slower they advanced, cringing every time the crunching of grass was too loud, or the wind blew too harshly. The beast remained dormant despite the occasional ruffling of its feathers, but Arc and Schnee didn’t crave to risk it. 

Five minutes later, they were standing behind it, the Grimm’s body towering over them. The male rounded to the Atlesian. 

“Okay, can you use your Semblance without your Aura?” 

She nodded once, so Arc resumed, “Good, now form a gravity Glyph under us.” 

She opened her Dust pouch and fished for a purple vial. Whenever the glass would click together, she’d withdraw her palm, take a deep breath and try again. Once she found it, loading it into Myrtenaster’s Dust chamber was equally tedious, but she managed it. Her fingers slid on the rapier’s blade, causing the etchings on the weapon to glow purple. A platform summoned beneath the duo’s feet, and Jaune crouched low. 

“As soon as we’re in the air, stab the Nevermore.” 

She grimaced but waited for his signal. 

The bird inhaled. And the moment it exhaled, Arc brought down his hand, and the heiress commanded her Glyph to repel them high. Savouring being alive, the two stabbed their blades into the hibernating creature and knelt on its back. It woke up and released the most ear-shattering shriek known to man. It screamed and squawked, pushing the limits of the humans’ eardrums, and the sudden take off nearly flung the Hunters to the ground. Weiss and Jaune clung to their weapon for dear life and joined the Grimm in its screaming. 

* * *

#  **IN THE CAVERN**

* * *

Their only comfort was the beating of their hearts and the other’s hand squeezing. Darkness rested over them as a stifling blanket, sapping the warmth of the world but not quite making it cold. Silence pierced their ears, wondering if whatever had deafened them was prowling nearby. 

In a moment of panic, Nikos activated her Aura, the act *force activating* Ruben’s. 

Huge mistake. 

Behind them, a golden glow brightened up the area. They turned back and gazed at a teardrop-shaped floating orb. The moment Pyrrha’s emerald eyes locked onto it, pure awe ensnared her, and she stood to drag herself closer to the beauty. Ruben was no less astonished but didn’t move closer for a whisper in his mind pleaded with him to: 

_‘Ignore the light,’_ and _‘Break free from false calm.’_

His music formed a holy symphony, choir and all. However, the choir and organ were too pitchy, the triangle too sharp, the tuba and his fellow brass mates resounded at too low of a pitch, too ominous to accompany the heavenly tune, and many notes – too many – fell flat. 

_‘Something’s not right here - Great Vallen, this music is awful – we need to go.’_

Ruben, hand still in Pyrrha’s, began walking backwards. The object lobbed forwards, and the spell wavered. 

It didn’t appreciate that. 

But the waver was enough to snap the duo out of it, no matter how much sweeter the glow became. Dread had settled in the pits of their stomach and planned on staying. They moved further and Ruben’s sliver orbs glimmered. The seducer gave up the game and revealed its authentic form: six burning orange eyes reducing in size down a flat ‘face’; glowing red patterns decorating pale, scratched and worn bone which highlighted the massive pincers that were seconds away from grabbing Pyrrha had she stepped one inch closer. A King Class Deathstalker studied them and they knew they stood no chance. 

Terrified, the red-head readjusted her grip on Ruben and spun around, “Time to go, now!” 

* * *

#  **AT THE TEMPLE**

* * *

Lilac orbs studied each chess piece on the podiums before her. Some were missing, to her dismay. She was hoping to be the first. A comforting thought of Shay being the few who finished the initiation ahead of her settled her ire. Blake stood aside, leaving the choice to her. 

_‘This kid isn’t very talkative, I don’t mind too much but Blake is so dreary when he’s silent’_ she found the one she wanted and approach it with a smirk, ‘ _Besides, he can keep up with my humour, him staying quiet is such a waste!’_

“I have chosen!” She grabbed a golden Knight peace and raised it high, “This cute little pony shall represent this partnership!” 

“Knight piece, huh?” Knocked out of his musings, Nightshade smirked at her, “It suits you.” 

“Is that so?” 

“Yeah, I can imagine that with you - you behave like you’d use the craziest action possible to get over obstacles and you're unpredictable.”

Yang enjoyed the strokes to her ego, wearing a stupid, smug grin that Blake immediately wished to wipe off. 

“But,” he began with a sly smile, “Your tendency to rush in leaves you unsupported from your team, usually resulting in your death and you're slow as all Hell - you take forever to get things done because you're too busy gallivanting around the place.”

She frowned before giving him a harsh glare.

He led his palms up, “Only telling you what the piece means.”

“You cheeky little shit,” she muttered. Blake heard her but didn’t comment, instead, his shit-eating smile grew. Yang dropped the subject (not wanting to expose her personality and thought process because of a wooden horse) and rested her hands on her hips and lamented, “Still, this was super easy.” 

“If there was a banner saying ‘Good Job, You Did It’ and a table with a cake on it, _then_ you can complain about how easy it was.” The secret Faunus fished a food bar out of his back and waved it at her, “And speak for yourself. The protein snacks they gave us are pretty tough to chew - my jaw got a proper workout.” 

“Ha, ha, Blake.” 

With a grin, he waved her over, “Come on, let’s get to the rendezvous point.”

In protest, Yang sunk to the ground, crossed legged and pouting, “Not a chance, I’m waiting for Ruben and Gods help me, if I have to scour through the woods to drag him here, I’ll do it. That boy is getting his ass in this school.”

A little miffed but understanding, Blake hopped onto a podium to relax. His eyes studied his ‘temporary partner’ with intrigue.

_‘It’s not every day you befriend a human who’s so loyal, let alone to a Faunus. I wonder how they know each other; they’re awfully close, much closer than I thought they were on the airship. Didn’t Ruben say she read to him all the time? Are they childhood friends? No - Yang called him her “baby bro” after his speech last night. Then there was this morning where she carried him off during his... panic attack. He spoke about a sister when I helped him with the heiress. He said little, but I could tell he took her lesson in wholeheartedly as I do with Adam’s teachings.’_

His train of thought exploded.

_‘They’re siblings. A human… and a **Faunus**.’_ he stroked his chin, _‘And she cares deeply for him too, even if he is adopted (there’s no way they were blood-related). Huh. When Lieutenant Goodwill presented that orientation about Vale, he didn’t exaggerate how different it is to Mistral and Atlas. But these two are probably the exception. Admirable none the less; this partnership might just work.’_

With newfound respect for his partner, Blake spent the time with bantering with her. They chuckled, but Yang’s expression became serious. He prompted her to explain what was wrong. Straight-faced, she replied with: 

“My ‘Big Sister Senses’ are tingling.” 

_‘That confirms it, I guess.’_

“What?” 

She stared into his eyes, fear filling her own, “Ruben’s in trouble.” 

* * *

#  **ELSEWHERE, ELSEWHERE, ELSEWHERE**

* * *

“Pyrrha, hurry!” 

The Faunus dodged an incoming tree, dragging his partner along. 

“I’m not as fast as you are, just keep going!” 

Before they could carry out that sentiment, a pincer smashed their backs and flung them into a glade. Nikos slammed into a tree while Rose rolled across the grass, the Scorpion Grimm barged passed the shrubbery towards them. Rose was the first to recover. Seeing his fallen friend ignited his wish to protect at all costs. He sped towards the demon arachnid and tried to draw its attention to him, hurling taunts and taking pathetic potshots that bounced off its bone casing. It grew bored with the prey it couldn’t catch and focused on the one still recovering. 

“No! Over here! Leave her alone!” 

_‘She’s gonna die! I’m fast enough to reach her, but I’m not strong enough to carry people with my Semblance! Think, Pup! There must be something… Ah-ha!’_

By the time Pyrrha finally sat up, its speeding stinger stole her chance to respond. She closed her eyes and braced for agony- 

**“WOAH!”**

Looking up, Nikos gasped at the fading rose petals falling from nowhere as Ruben clung onto the Deathstalker’s tail. 

_‘What the Hell?’_ was all she pondered, because anyone else would struggle to explain what she was seeing too. She knew he saved her life, but how? Turns out, the boy figured he could create enough force to change the path of the strike by… slamming his own body into it. 

_‘An innovative plan? Yes. A sane one? No!’_

Nikos stood to full height and bore Milo and Akouo in attack formation, still dazed by the sight ahead of her. The boy flailed around, trying to find some leverage, but the demon Scorpion’s desperate attempts to shake him off stopped that from happening. Why he clung on escaped Pyrrha’s comprehension until she realised that if he let go, the beast would sting him moments afterwards. What’s worse was the bone pressed hard into his palms, the leather gloves rubbing against his bare hands, and caused him painful irritation. 

“C-Could you get me d-down?” he spoke through gritted teeth and fear. 

“Uh…” she had to admit, thinking fast on her feet was much easier in a tournament. Living combatants have this sense of predictability to them, but Ruben and the Grimm were a different matter altogether. Once more, she admired the short half-Faunus. Even if he put his life in fatal danger. 

_‘Don’t get distracted, he’s in pain!’_

Muffled grunts of irritation transformed into moans of anguish as he begged for help. 

“I’ll get you down, just relax and focus on me.” His teary silver eyes met her emerald ones, and he calmed down, “Now, whatever you don’t let-” 

Annoyed with its unwanted passenger, the Deathstalker flayed its bony tail backwards. In one great swing, it flung Rose over the canopy. His cries were the only sign that he was still alive. 

“...Go.” 

_‘Well then.’_

The champion wasted no time following her partner. Or was she running from Grimm? Depends on your perspective, I guess. 

* * *

#  **AT THE TEMPLE**

* * *

Yang paced the temple ground, to the point of Blake fearing that she might tear a hole in the ground. He, being the youngest in most of his relationships, never experienced comforting the older person, so he sat there, watching her mutter, curse and work herself into a tizzy. Then, his hidden ears picked up on a shrill noise from above the forest.

_‘The Hell is that?’_ he mused.

The sound drew closer at breakneck speeds, and soon enough he could identify it as shrieks filled with pure terror.

_‘It’s too high pitched to be male, unless that’s a pubescent child. Ha! As Ozpin would risk his 2-decade-long career letting in underaged kids.’_ he shook his head to wave off the unrelated thought _, ‘But what is that noise? I can’t identify it with Yang marching around like that!’_

“Stop,” he shushed. Yang snapped her mouth open to reply, but the sight of his serious expression (more than his default face) silenced her, “Can you hear that?”

She strained her own ears, but, “I hear nothing; what’s up?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out - some girl is in trouble, she sounds terrified, and she’s coming here fast.”

A moment of silence shrouded the area as both tried to listen. As for what they’ll do when they find out, they pushed that for afterwards. While she heard the voices (unsure of how Blake could hear that sooner than she could), the beating of massive wings followed them.

Yang perked up when she finally heard it, but that soon dropped to anxiousness, “How many girls did you say you heard, because I hear two.”

“No, that’s not what-” he paused and gaped at the sky, “Oh my Gods.”

The blonde turned to see what caught his attention and her jaw dropped.

* * *

#  **SOMEWHERE IN THE SKY ABOVE THE EMERALD FOREST**

* * *

The Nevermore did not like its hibernation cut short to be an emergency taxi service. Nor did it like having two swords plunged into its neck. It made sure its _‘passengers’_ knew that with every steep dive, each frantic spin and ear-popping rise and repeating the violent cycle. The humans yelled as each fall lurched their stomachs and their slipping grips on Myrtenaster and Crocea signalled a quick, embarrassing death. Weiss, gritting her teeth from the ache of her hands and the stings from her hair whipping her, turned to the Valian.

“Jaune!” once he faced her, terrified sea-blue eyes reflecting her own fear, she tried to reprehend him, “I told you this was a bad idea!”

“Consider the lesson learned!”

At least if she died, she’d die being right. The thought wasn’t as comforting as she hoped it would be. Arc’s constant praying to Ozma, Vallen, and whichever Maidens would listen to let them live did nothing to help. It tempted her to join him in prayer, but her father told her, “Dignity is the foundation of a Schnee, to lose it is to lose meaning.” If she dies, she can repent for her lack of submission in the afterlife. Now? She goes out with her head held high.

Jaune interrupted her morbid thoughts, “I got a plan!”

“No! No more plans, your first one got us here in the first place!”

“I know! I’m sorry but please, Snow Angel, if you got any ideas lay them on me!”

He ignored her growling (he assumed she was, it’s hard to tell with 400 mph winds blocking his hearing and seemed like a Weiss-y thing to do) and resumed, “I can see the temple from here - if we guide the Nevermore to it, we can jump off after it does another dive!”

“Are you insane?!”

“I’m desperate to live!”

Somehow, he stood in the intense gale and pushed his great sword deeper into the beast’s plush neck. With a heave, it cried out in response. If it wasn’t a person eating city terrorising, soulless demon, he would’ve felt sorry for it. It submitted to his guidance anyway, banking left and right when applied enough pressure. Terrified, but focused on the outside; in his mind, he imagined the look of his sister’s gobsmacked faces when he’d tell them he rode and controlled a Nevermore with Weiss Schnee.

If he survived, anyway.

The temple came closer, as did the figure of Ruben’s sister and Blake, both gawping at the sight of them. They watched as the Grimm attempted one more dive to shake their fellow Hunters-in-training. Jaune shimmied his blade out until the tip remained in the beast (heh) before addressing Weiss.

“When I give the signal, jump!”

Had he been looking, he would’ve seen her shaking her head and clinging onto her rapier tighter. He murmured “steady, wait for it” over and over, confusing her more on when she had to go (if she was foolish enough to follow him). It looked like he didn’t want to jump either, massive Aura gauge or not, that fall would hurt like a-

“Now!”

“Wait-”

Just like that, the Arc disappeared.

The Atlesian has killed things before, but seeing a person die in front of her was an unfamiliar experience. Unsure sure how to explain it, but it didn’t feel good.

* * *

#  **SOMEWHERE** _ **ELSE**_ **IN THE SKY ABOVE THE EMERALD FOREST**

* * *

Had this been under any other case, Ruben would’ve revelled in the thrill of flying. Allowing the breeze to ruffle his hair and rub his skin, letting the wind drive him to where ever. Since he was young (er), he hoped that when his Semblance matures, it’ll be like his mother’s: a paragon of speed, so quick that she becomes a vector unseen by the naked eye, glowing white and leaving a mess of white rose petals everywhere. That he’ll be fast enough to defy gravity and reach insane heights. To be strong enough to-

Where was I going with this? Oh, right.

Ruben would love to fly like this under any other circumstance. 

But now, he’s been soaring at 500 mph while over 230 ft. off the ground because a King-Class Grimm was in a mood. Even if that is an epic way to go out, he will not revel in anything since he’s too busy thinking about the painful death awaiting him and shouting his head off.

_‘Oh, it’s the temple,’_ he thought as he took in more air for another round of screaming, _‘and the Nevermore with Weiss and Jaune came back.’_

He regarded the two cling for dear life onto the beast as it circled him during his flight often. _‘At least the last thing I’ll ever see is funny. I hope they’ll survive though.’_

Gravity pushed him downwards and the descent, no matter how slow, swayed the liquids in his tummy. The flat ground of the forest floor near the temple came in fast. For a second he swore he saw Yang and Blake in his peripheral. Sharp pains struck his heart at the thought of leaving his big sis all alone, but he was about to die so-

**“OOF!”**

* * *

#  **AT THE TEMPLE**

* * *

Yang and Blake witnessed the entire event and watched its rough conclusion in awe (Ruben slamming into Jaune from out of nowhere after the latter leapt off an angry transitioning Nevermore). Blake sniffed as he caressed his chin.

“I guess there was only one girl.”

“WHAT!?” Yang fumed, “After that whole thing, _that_ is what you commented on?!” 

“What else should I say?” He scolded her, crossing his arms, “How in the name of the Salem Witch is _anyone_ supposed to comment on _that?_ I’m not even sure what _that_ was, and I’ve seen some crazy shit outside the Kingdom Walls!”

Finger in his face, she snarled, “Listen, pal-”

In the thick of the woods, an animalistic roar rang out. The duo, anxious enough to draw their weapons, watched as a hulking mass of brown, thick fur - a teenage Brown Bear - stormed towards the temple grounds. Atop it, the bombastic ginger they saw last night rode it with glee, hooting, “Go, Loki, go! You Da Bear!” while a determined Southern Mistrali boy made sure the girl stayed on course by yanking at the bear’s fur.

Yang tilted her head, _‘He looks so damn used to this, like this it’s a common occurrence.’_ as she heard Nora’s cheers, she concluded that, _‘This is probably something he’s used to. Man, I thought raising Ruben is tough - I gotta get some tips from this guy!’_

The animal slid next to them as the duo dismounted.

“Okay, Nora,” Ren hummed, “The bear has proved himself, Loki can stay.”

“You hear that, Lo-Lo?” She threw her arms around the creature, and it reciprocated the gesture by nuzzling her, “Papa Ren said you can stay with Mama.”

“Never call me that again.” he sighed, knowing full well that she would.

Once he noticed the other pair, he waved at them (their expressions of astonishment weren’t uncommon with people who never met his friend) and moved to collect a relic. The golden Rook piece caught his eye first and with Nora’s love for castles and queenship, he knew she would force him to give up any other piece for that one. Besides, the meaning behind the Rook piece always appealed to him and applied to Nora’s nature the best: straightforward, loyal, dependable and strong.

Blake attempted to question the intricacies of Beacon, letting Nora keep wild animals until Pyrrha Nikos jumped out the foliage with a King Deathstalker storming behind her. It did all it could to grab her in its pincers, but the Mistrali’s reflexes saved her hide.

“For Maidens’ sake.” he grumbled, “It doesn’t end.”

* * *

_‘Oh man, my head is killing me,’_ Ruben’s music played a delightful, whimsical tone - much to his irritation, _‘What was that? It felt like slamming into a metal wall.’_

“Hey, buddy.” Jaune hung upside down from the tree, giving his first friend a defeated look. The younger male blinked away the stars and blurriness and took in his face. With a slow point and dopey smile forming, Ruben gasped:

“Best friend!”

How could Arc not smile at that? However, the Pyrrha/Grimm fiasco ruined the moment, taking Rose’s attention - he found leverage on the branch he fell on and waddled to the tip, giving Jaune’s cheek a pat as he passed. Jaune moved to pull him back but realised the boy was too small to carry him down (despite his gigantic weapon) and he rather not test if it could support their combined weight. Still, he hoped he could wiggle his way out without the result being a broken neck.

As Ruben jumped down into a roll, Yang ran up to him and began searching his body for injuries and interrogating him:

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“How did that happen?” he didn’t notice the deathly calm tone in her voice as she pointed to the path of his flight. She circled his form, analysing his skull for bumps or wounds, double-checking his Aura level and patting down his body for blood and bruises.

_‘He seems alright.’_

“The Grimm chasing Pyrrha threw me.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Right now? No, the leather irritated my palms when I was holding the Deathstalker tail, but that’s it.”

“Good.” she ended her fretting to give him a warm smile. Before it dissolved into a growl as she hit his head (softly), “Then what were you thinking?!”

Saddened ears pressed on his scalp and whines escaped him, but accepted the beating because yeah, what he did _was_ stupid.

_‘I disappointed her, but I will rectify this mistake.’_

Nora stole the spotlight as she pointed at Weiss, “Is she gonna be okay?”

The heiress had slid from her original position on the Nevermore’s back to clinging onto the talon for dear life. Her terror snatched her ability to emote about her dire circumstance. Jaune, now out of the tree, called out to her.

“I told you to jump!”

“And you thought I would listen?!”

_‘This is rich.’_ Blake’s grin took over his face as he watched Schnee struggle to hold on to the Grimm, _‘If only my Scroll came with a camera, Ilia would’ve loved this.‘_

“She’s gonna fall.” the hidden Faunus pointed out. Almost... _giddy_.

Yang didn’t like the expression of pure delight on her partner’s face and gave a weak wave of optimism, “She’ll be fine.”

Ren butt in, “She’s falling.”

Arc moved towards the edge of the branch to seize his moment and be Weiss’ hero. Sure, she’s furious at the moment and will never let him forget that this was his fault. He could work his way through her good graces and one day be her boyfriend. Besides, he’d be a shitty partner if he didn’t save her life. He sprung off the platform and caught Weiss in his grasp.

“Why hello there, Snow Angel.”

Weiss, stunned from touching death, stared at him without a comment. Ice-blue eyes expanded at the 30-metre drop left to go and stared back at Jaune. Arc also realised his mistake and pressed her closer.

“Oh, Gods.” 

* * *

Silent and unsure what to do, the kids winced as Nikos stumbled and got smacked by the Deathstalker. As she flew to them, Ruben braced himself and put his body in the path of her trajectory.

“I got-” his words cut off at the impact of an armoured and armed teenage girl hitting his front and collapsing on the ground, “Ow.”

“I’m sorry.” The redhead groaned. It didn’t take long for the two to recover as Yang clapped her hands and rubbed them together.

“Great, the gang is all here, now we can die together!”

“Not now, I will fix my mistake.”

Everyone turned to the youngest teen with confused (or judgemental) expressions. Smirking, the boy dashed off, leaving a trail of rose petals behind.

“Ruben, no!”

Not caring who called him or what for, Rose expanded Crescent Rose to her full form and fired bullets, propelling him further towards the Deathstalker. On the shaft of the weapon, Ruben pressed a switch to activate his War Scythe mode, which gained him more speed. Anticipation burned into his bones, the thrill of battle shining through his grin as he clocked C. R back for a massive-

_**WHACK!** _

Six rough rolls occurred before Ruben slowed to a stop. Adrenalin faded away and the full force of the hit delved deep instead. Hellfire, pure and crippling pain rippled through his torso; throbs promised the sweet relief from pain only to swell back in a mighty surge. Aura saved his life, for if he didn’t have it, his ribcage would have cracked or collapsed in on itself. Mind unable to process the Remnant-shattering agony coursing through him, Ruben lay there wheezing like an elderly man on his deathbed as his attacker stalked closer.

“RUBEN!”

He rolled on his side to get in a position to see his caller.

_‘Yang... Don’t worry her. Stop worrying her.’_

Defiant against pain itself (for his sister, he’ll fight the Gods), the boy stumbled to a stand waving her off.

“D-don’t worry; totally f-fine.”

Maybe she’d believe him if he stood straighter, stopped holding his stomach and stopped cringing. Slow but soothing, Ruben’s Aura calmed his injury as he picked up Crescent Rose and broke into a run. The breeze from another strike from the Deathstalker snipped some of his cherry-black locks and tried to grab him. However, the boy had activated his Semblance, thus creating a major distance between them.

_‘Why is she still coming?’_

An almighty screech damn-near ruptured all four of his hears. Heavy beating wings followed him and the situation and his sister’s fear made sense.

_‘Death really likes me today.'_

Speed Semblance or not, he didn’t feel like he was moving fast enough since the beat of wings drew closer and closer. Hopeful-students and the ancient temple came into view, as did Yang’s fearful face, and for a moment Rose let himself believe he was in the home run.

Something streaked through the air, making a whistling noise as it descended and pinned his sash.

_‘Dad always said my fashion sense will come to haunt me! How could my sash betray me?!’_

One, four, eight; deadly feathers stabbed the ground, trailing the way to Yang. She punched some out the way, never losing the beat, until one dived towards her back. By trying to avoid the feather, she slipped on the grass and ended up in a frantic flurry of rolls and doges to avoid the leftovers. Once the barrage ended, she resumed her mad dash and dread filled her soul as the gaps between the feathers revealed her brother’s predicament.

“Get out of there, now!”

“I’m trying!”

_‘Stupid leather gloves!’_

Fingers fumbled to unpin, unknot and unbuckle the sash to no avail. With the support belts and emblem pin alongside the tears blurring his vision, the sash refused to budge. Frustration led him clawing, grasping and scratching at the accessory, but no change. No movement. He was trapped. Hearing Yang scramble her way through the maze of black plumes, grunting in panic and effort to save him, broke his heart as he knew he was done for.

Lilac met Silver.

Baby brother took in his big sister. His hero. His surrogate mother.

Scuttling crept up behind him and the familiar cracking of bone pulling back echoed in the area. As he looked back, the golden orb he thought he escaped hung over his head. The appendage it was connected to tensed and strained, pulling back to kill. Yang collapsed to her knees, knowing she was nowhere near enough or able to save her Ruben. That didn't stop her from crying out until it felt thousands of knives were carving through her throat.

As the scorpion tail neared her terrified brother, her pseudo son; she pathetically reached out to him. 

**“NOOOO!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Force Activation: Yeah. IDK why I introduced this (possibly lore-breaking) ability. Basically, when someone activates their Aura while touching someone with unlocked Aura, they can cause that person's aura to activate without their input. I assume you can use it on children with unlocked Aura but they have no control of it. In fact, Weiss could activate Jaune's Aura on the field for him until he knows how to do it himself.
> 
> I know, shame on me for the cliffhanger. Also, what chess piece do you think applies the most/least to each partnership/characters? I think the Knight applies more to Ruben and Yang than anybody, well the most of weaknesses go to Ruben and the strengths go to Yang - makes sense for what I have planed in later volumes. As for partnership, the Knight is either W and J or Y and B. Rook definitely goes to Pyrrha and Nora. What does Weiss, Ren and Blake have?


	8. Fighting Battles (PART II)...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Estimated Reading Time: 28 minutes, 25 seconds (I told you both chapters were near 50 to 1 hour long together).
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTICEs:  
> 1) Team CRDL is no longer there. They were amongst the first to retrieve the chess pieces off-page. I had planned for them to fight the King Tijitu, but no matter how I write it, it's just not plausible to do it without taking away from the heroes or implying that they were left in the woods. So the one giving Ruben the judgmental look was Weiss.
> 
> 2) The Volume is now taking place in November and will end in February (over the course of Winter). I have this thematic thing with the Seasons that I'll show later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki is Best Boi. Hands down the best character in RNBY. Even if I almost forgot he existed.
> 
> P.S. I added to the Lore Bible - there is now another class of Grimm called 'Ancient Class' or the 'SS-Class'.
> 
> P.P.S. Jaune's weapon names keep getting mixed up so I'll clarify them here: Crocea is the Shield and Mors is the sword. Please call me out whenever I mix up the two. I'll go back and fix this.
> 
> P.P.P.S. I wanted to dedicate this chapter and the next to OniRinku. They had a tough exam week and I want to give back to them for being an awesome friend and for as something to read in-between study breaks.

“You are _so_ childish.”

Ruben opened his eyes. Weiss Schnee stood in ahead of him, taking out Myrtenaster from the soil. Pyrrha stood next to her, rolling her shoulder, and wincing in pain.

_‘I…’_

He couldn’t process the situation, but he was no less thankful to the incredible Huntresses that saved him. What got his jaw to drop was the thick wall of ice entrapping the Deathstalker tail and the creature’s desperate bid to break free.

Weiss rolled her eyes at his astonishment and walked away. As she passed Yang, the golden-haired girl stared at her with the most gratitude she had ever witnessed.

“T-thank you. Thank you so much.”

Nodding once, Schnee continued past the girl, unsettled by the warmth in her chest.

Pyrrha got over the damage to her shield as her Aura took its time soothing her aching shoulder. She eyed her guilty-looking partner, then her Scroll (it showed their Aura level in the Warning Zone – his less than hers).

“Considering how dangerous this job is,” she began in a low tone, “I had hoped my partner would have a better sense of self-preservation than… _this.”_

Ears pressed back, Rose peered up with wet eyes, “I just…”

“You want this partnership to work, right?” she mused as she wiped her sweaty forehead.

He nods pathetically.

“Then no more rushing in _or_ showing off.”

Rose scrambled to a stand and growled, “I wasn’t showing off, I was making up for my weakness!” his fury tapered off, “I’m sorry, Pyrrha.”

“You’re not weak, you saved my life!” With a huff, she patted his head and whispered, “I don’t know anyone who did so as honourably as you did - thank you.”

Pure, unfiltered joy radiated from him and Nikos revelled in it. Although, it didn’t ease the glimmer of doubt in her chest.

_‘He’s a bit too eager to please, but I’m sure nothing will come off it.’_

Pyrrha kept that in mind, but the stomping of feet interrupted her thoughts. In a flash, the boy vanished and leapt into his sister’s embrace, arms and legs wrapping around her. Yang cradled his head to her neck and mumbled thousands of thanks to the embarrassed Mistrali. Pyrrha let them be and Xiao Long collapsed to her knees. She staring at the sky to keep her sniffles at bay while pressing Ruben as close as she could. 

“Don’t you ever do that again, do you understand?”

Satisfied with his firm nod, she placed a trembling kiss on his head and stood up. The younger Rose slid off the elder, eyes trained on the ground as his canine ears drooped. Guilt swarmed his soul for terrifying Yang with his recklessness.

“I’ll make up for this, sis.”

“Just stay alive for me – then you’ll make up for every mistake you ever made.”

The siblings strode to the temple, where everyone pretended they weren’t watching them. Xiao Long eyes rolled, and she smirked but didn’t comment. Ruben stuck to her side whilst the trauma of his near-death experience worked its way out of him. She placed an arm over his shoulder; not so much to comfort him and more of a comfort for her.

_‘He’s here, he’s alive. Relax. If he tries that shit again, I can yank him back.’_

Jaune smiled at the wolf Faunus then glanced at the sky, “Guys, that Nevermore is circling back.”

“There’s no point in dillydallying,” Weiss took initiative and strode up to a podium, “Our objective is right there. But where’s the-”

“Rendezvous point?” Blake interrupted, “If you pick a Relic, the target on the Scroll map changes to a place called Malachite Canyon.”

While the heiress didn’t appreciate the interruption, she gave the Mistrali a nod of acknowledgement and picked a Rook Relic. She had much finer chess pieces at home - Jacques and Whitely being avid chess players - but something drew her to that one. Perhaps because of what it represented: strong, sturdy and reliable. A necessity for the kingdom’s survival.

And a pawn in a way. Nothing but another item to sacrifice according to the whims of a feeble king.

Ruben looked up at Yang, “You picked the pony, right?”

Nightshade held in a laugh, _‘These two really are siblings.’_

“Of course, I picked the pony!” the blonde pointed at the golden knight, “There’s one more left.”

Ren flinched at the crack forming in the ice Weiss trapped the Deathstalker in. It spasmed, desperate to escape its prison and devour the children in front of it.

He faced everyone else, “It’s time we left.”

“Right,” Jaune mumbled while peering at Weiss, who still studied the miniature tower in the grip before raising his voice, “Let’s get moving!”

Arc led the charge with his Scroll out, tripping over his feet occasionally since he was so focused on the device (and the massive, ancient scorpion trying to swipe at him). The rest followed with Ruben at the back to make sure they left nothing and no one behind. As he stood on a rock to assess the area, Yang halted to stare at him, eyebrows drawn, and her partner noticed.

“Is something wrong?”

A grin developed on her face while her lilac eyes brightened. He saw that expression before, many times on his parents’ and brother’s face: pride. He turned to the reason for her expression and understood.

“He’s got a long way to go.”

“A very long way.” she agreed absently, “But looking at him now? I think he’s gonna go far.”

Awkward but not apathetic, the noirette patted her shoulder before Ruben yelled, “Come on, slowpokes! That ice won’t hold forever!”

Yang returned to her cheerful persona as they raced to catch up with the others.

* * *

#  **VALE: THE EMERALD FOREST**

#  **Malachite Canyon**

* * *

Trees thinned out before giving way to more ancient structures. The chosen name ‘Malachite’ became clear since the grass had changed shades to the rich green colour. That and the builders had engraved the pillars of the decaying buildings with the ore. Fog rolled in as the once blue sky turned grey and the chill from the gorge breathed over them. Through the mist, they could identify another sanctuary, much grander than the previous one. It was a former castle or battlement, whose stones were as washed out as the sky, remained as part of an ancient civilisation that once thrived in the Emerald Forest.

Jaune laughed as he gestured at the Scroll and the monument, relief flooding his veins, “That’s the rendezvous point, we’re almost there!”

_‘If we’re in the home run,’_ Ruben mused to himself as a frown stretched on his face, _‘then why the music so scary-sounding?’_

His silver orbs scoured the site for the beginning of the daunting tune. War drums cannoned after the tense shake of a tambourine as a cello and bass sung over them. The sound increased his heart rate as he sped up the speed of his search.

Then he found it.

_‘Gosh darn it! I’m not sure what I regret more: running at the Deathstalker or looking up!’_

“Uh, guys?” Rose addressed the group, “Don’t to worry you too much, but we got a major problem!”

All looked up to see what he meant, and their hearts dropped. Ominous, ravenous, and furious, the Nevermore flew overhead, casting a gigantic shadow over them. Everyone split up to hide in the wings of the decrepit structures: Jaune with Yang, Pyrrha with Nora and Loki, Weiss with Blake, Ruben with Ren. The Grimm circled to perch on the temple. It let out a bone-rattling screech, worsened by the booming acoustics of the gorge.

Yang huffed at her fellow blonde, “You just had to piss off a Nevermore.”

“Would you prefer a King Tijitu?” he blubbered.

“That thing looks like a King class anyway - at least with a Tijitu we could escape!”

They heard the echo of Weiss’s voice in the distance, _“Thank you!”_

Before Jaune could defend himself, trees quaked as they made way for a massive creature. Trees were tilted, thrown, or dropped, but it didn’t matter as the cause of the destruction revealed itself by hurling a splintered trunk.

“Fantastic,” Blake whispered, making Ren hum in amusement.

The group of eight sprinted towards the stone bridge.

Weiss yelled at Nora to “Distract it!”

Valkyrie saluted and pulled out Magnhild, firing shots at the demon bird, but its mask and tough hide protected it from damage. Angered, it soared up and shot feathers at its attacker. She dodged most of them with Weiss’s guidance until some clipped and leg shoulder. Schnee’s vague orders weren’t the problem, but she sensed Schnee’s panicked tone made them come out as garbled/confused nonsense.

Loki pawed at the air, bound by his mistress’ order to “stay put until Mama comes for you.” But with Nora’s Aura taking its time to heal the scar on her leg, she couldn’t move out of the path of the rampaging, giant scorpion.

With no alternative left the Brown bear stampeded towards his ‘mama’. Both raven-haired boys noticed what the animal intended to and nodded at each other from across the field.

The Deathstalker reached Nora, clocking its pincers for a devastating strike.

Loki opened his maw, inches away from sagging her popped collar.

Ren and Blake raced to the event and leapt.

Nightshade spun with his Cleaver and Pistol-Katana while his fellow Mistralian opted for a diagonal strike. Every hit stuck the golden eyes of the Grimm as the bear picked up his mistress and ran. Nora caressed Loki’s cheek and let him cart her away. Weiss gave her an apologetic nod, which she waved off while Loki hid her from battle. Once he put her down, she stroked his head.

“You’re such a _good_ boy.” Nora cooed before widening her eyes, “No, really, it’s _scary_ how intelligent you are. Anyway, Mama has to get back to the fighting now.”

He growled, but she was having none of it, “Nope, none of that attitude, you do as your told and stay put and no more playing hero - even if you are good at it; I’ll be back for you.”

With a kiss, she ran into the fray, wondering how she’ll convince the Headmaster or the Vice Principal to let Loki join them once the recovery ship shows up.

* * *

The kids dashed across the stone bridge, hearts thundering as the demons followed. The wind whipped their faces and pushed them toward the canyon floor – a 10,000ft. drop, hidden by fog. No one dared to look back or to the sides out of fear that the sight of the sheer emptiness below and the promised death of a retreat-attempt would stop them in their tracks.

Save for Nora, who marched with a beam on her face.

Wings smacked the air, the noise drawing closer and closer to the bridge. Eyes peered to the right and saw the Nevermore speeding its way to them. Hopes that it would pull up disappeared when they remembered a key fact about Standard Class and above Grimm:

Items or weapons that aren’t powered by Dust or Aura can’t damage their pelt. Should the Nevermore choose to slam itself into buildings, it would feel nothing.

And considering where they were standing, its current altitude, direction, and speed…

**“WATCH OUT!”**

Debris spread about as the creature ploughed through the stone. The impact flung Ruben, Nora, Yang, Pyrrha and Jaune on one side. Weiss, Blake, and Ren trapped on the other.

It circled the gorge, as the group nearest to the monument shot at it. Jaune recovered and faced the side where Weiss and co. faced the Deathstalker. They fought well, but its bone armour and massive pincers made it impossible for them to deal damage. When Blake got whacked and almost tripped off the edge, the blonde stepped forward. Nora stood by him, shooting at the Nevermore like the others, and he tapped her shoulder.

“We got to get over there, they need help!”

She nods, “Let’s do this.”

Dark blue eyes peeked over the edge and widen at the massive drop. His heart fell to his feet.

“Yeah…” he pointed at the abyss, “I can’t make that jump.”

The ginger’s teal orbs glimmered with manic glee. Suddenly, Magnhild slammed into Jaune’s stomach with inhuman strength, hurling him back. Nora extended it into its full form - a grenade launching hammer. Arc realised what she meant to do and reached out.

“NO, WAIT!”

“TALLY-HO!”

She slammed her weapon on the part she and Jaune stood on, snapping it, and launching Jaune across the gorge. His blood pressure rose by at least 10% while Nora fired a Dust grenade to propel herself towards land. Once in range, she changed her pose, aiming to strike the Deathstalker in the head.

It landed; the impact potent enough to ripple through Valkyrie’s bones. She gritted her teeth, trying to keep in the groan of pain.

And the Grimm didn’t bother to flinch, despite the tremendous force pressing down on its bony head.

Instead, it swung its stinger towards her, which made her dodge. In her backflip, Nora blinded herself to her surroundings and didn’t notice a certain secret Faunus recovering from a previous hit. The stinger struck the handle of Magnhild with enough strength to push her back severely close to the edge. Something hit her, but she focused on the tail strike coming her way.

Whatever that was, it was (probably) fine.

Blake, falling hundreds of feet into the canyon, certainly didn’t think so.

_'Oh, Gods! I’m gonna die!’_

Adrenaline flooded his system like it’s on an intravenous drip. His heart palpitated and his eyes widened. Desperate to quell the fear coursing through his bones before his body was sent into Shock, his golden eyes searched for help. The flapping of raven hair in his eyes or the sinking sensation in his tummy did nothing to calm him.

_'Ilia made this look so easy - she jumps off a building and walks away with a smirk on her face. How the Hell does she do it?!’_

In his panicking, he noted the remaining pillars were not far from his position.

_‘Sweet Baby Mysti!’_

Gambol Shroud – in kusarigama mode – flew at a breakneck velocity which firmly lodged it into the ancient stone. The ribbon held his weight as he swung between the pedestals. While he did this, the Grimm bird locked its sight on him. In seconds, Blake dislodged his weapon, reverted it to its Katana form and cast a shadow clone to use as leverage. The added speed pushed him towards the beast’s beak. Dual-blades sliced through the iron-like maw before another shadow clone took the Faunus’ place. Blake appeared on its head, slashing where he could as he ran down its back.

_‘How strong is this thing?’_

A peek down let him see his partner, her brother and Nikos watching him from the decayed temple walls. As the Nevermore curved, Blake landed next to Yang.

Legs numb and hands trembling, he heaved, “That thing is tough,” he raised Gambol Shroud, “I sharpened this today and not even a scratch!”

Determination burned in Yang’s eyes, _‘Two can play at that game, Big Bird.’_

She flicked her wrists, emptying the spare shells from Ember Celica. Then, she fished her ammo pack for twenty-four rounds of Fire and Magma Dust shells.

“Do you guys have Fire Dust bullets?” the group nodded and complied with her train of thought. Soon everyone was loaded, and she raised her fists, “Let’s hit it with everything we’ve got!”

_‘I’m not sure this will work.’_ The thought passed between the Mistralians but with no alternative; they aimed and prayed for a miracle. Blake transformed his sword into a handgun, and Pyrrha kneeled before turning Milo into a rifle. Ruben popped a scope on rifle-mode Crescent Rose, before pressing the padded butt to his shoulder like his partner. They fired in unison as a colony of cerebral instruments built up in anticipation and the Nevermore drew near. Higher and higher the _intensity,_ the _thrill,_ climbed as gunshots and explosions crackled in the foreground.

Despite the excessive volume of Dust and metal bombarding its skull and wings, the creature refused to slow down or slacken. It just grew angrier and faster. Even its demon orange eyes glared at the Hunters.

“Uh, g- guys?!” Ruben’s confidence wavered, “IT’S GETTING CLOSER!”

Pyrrha lowered her gun, dread on her face, “OH SHIT!”

“THIS ISN’T WORKING!” Nightshade screamed at his partner.

“I KNOW!” Yang flapped her hands about like she was trying to cancel the plan from reality, “ABORT! ABORT! BRACE YOURSELVES!”

In a single swoop, the bird shattered the battlement.

The wreckage spewed into the cold air, chunks of ruin in various sizes. As they tumbled to the canyon ground, the children dashed across a sizeable ore-engraved slab, but soon they ran out of road. With no other option, they leapt onto the sinking platforms and prayed that they’ll make it out of the situation. Decisions had to be made on the fly, the risk of death growing with each leap while their stomachs flopped, and frosty winds nipped at their skin. Anxiety powered them and their muscles strained because of the intense movements. Blake utilised his clones to propel himself vertically along a pillar, Yang’s powerful shotgun shells pushed her forwards whilst she obliterated obstacles in her path; Pyrrha threw Akoúo, using him as a make-shift platform to reach the next rock to run on, bashing small but dangerous stones with rifle-Milo.

And Ruben?

For the first time in his life, a rock guitar and drum kit accompanied his mental orchestra. At first, it emphasised the slaps of sound the brass made, until it led alongside the strings in the sixth count. Modern Rock and Classical Orchestral forms interwind, fulling the Faunus’ fire.

_'This new!’_ He was the only combatant with a broad grin. ‘ _But hey, it sounds awesome!’_

The boy synced his body with the rhythm of the music - vaulting, shooting, or running according to the command of the mental conductor. Leaping to the beat of the last count, Ruben landed beside Pyrrha and rested his weapon on his shoulder.

She lamented, “This is getting us nowhere.”

Dull silver eyes flicked away to study Blake swinging to another platform, focusing on the strong ribbon supporting his weight. Then, they studied his sister atop a pillar, firing futile bullets at the Nevermore.

_‘What if... I mean, it’s crazy but it **might** work. The normal method of shooting it isn’t, so...’_

He faced his partner and asked: “Pyrrha, do you think you could launch me if I jumped on Akoúo?”

“How much do you weigh?”

“About 50 to 60 kilos.”

She mulled it over as she looked at her aspis, “Do you have any metal on you?”

“My bracers,” He raised his chrome cuffs, “zips and buttons on my waistcoat, belt buckle and my shoes have steel soles and tips.”

Her worried face relaxed when he mentioned the shoes, “Then, yes, I could - why?”

“Cover me,” He grinned. “I’ve got a plan.”

* * *

#  **ON THE OTHER SIDE**

* * *

Jaune, Weiss, Ren, and Nora stumbled on the remains of the bridge. They shared a look and charged towards the Deathstalker.

However, the Grimm obstructed their attack by lunging its stinger towards Ren. Jaune dashed in front of him, his shield raised, and took the brunt of the attack. The impact threw both boys backwards, and the girls took their place. Nora bombarded the creature with Lightning Dust grenades, which did nothing since they were all blocked by massive claws. And with Schnee’s fencer-humanoid-orientated fighting style, she didn't fare any better, even with her wider range of Dust ammunition.

Ren sat Jaune up, simultaneously inspecting the monster, “We can’t hurt it like this - we need to get rid of its pincers or its tail before a full assault.”

Ideas hustled through Arc’s mind thanks to the Mistralian’s observation. Plans moved too fast to focus on and the situation too dire to think calmly in.

Another jab fixed the scorpion’s tail into the wobbling bridge and realisation exploded behind his dark blue eyes. Ren recognised the expression, including the personal feeling of terror it induced. Bracing himself, helped the astonished Arc stand.

“Weiss!”

The Atlesian, avoiding the slow swipes of the Deathstalker, glared at her partner.

“Keep those pincers spread - make sure it can’t defend with them!”

With a grimace, Schnee complied by using Gravity Dust to force the appendages away from its face. She struggled to maintain the glyphs, praying that her partner hadn’t come up with a foolish plan that will cost them their lives this time.

Meanwhile, Jaune turned to the ginger but stayed loud enough for everyone else to hear, “When I give the signal, I want you to blast its face like crazy the instant Weiss moves out of the way - can you handle it?”

Valkyrie snorted and crouched, “Can I?”

The boys stared at her.

“Well, can-”

“Of course, I can!”

“R- Right,” the blonde stuttered before addressing the raven-haired boy, “Now what I’m about to ask of you is really dangerous.”

“And being in this situation isn’t?”

“Good point,” A pained groan from Wiess and a violent shake from the Grimm stole his attention, “I’ll tell you in a sec.” Body lowered in a defensive stance, he asked, “Ready, girls?!”

“HURRY UP ALREADY!”

Jaune raised his blade – Mors – and waited.

Weiss buckled to her knees as her Glyphs cracked and flickered; Nora kept the glint of the great sword in her peripheral, eager to assist the heiress and blast some Grimm butt; and Ren copied his fellow male’s stance, ready to assist should anything go awry.

“NOW!” Mors swung down a wide and swift arc.

Schnee backflipped to safety and Valkyrie replaced her, joyfully blitzing the Grimm’s face with an assortment of Dust grenades. Bursts of light and the flurry of elemental particle effects blinded the creature and forced it to stumble back. Its pincers, in wild and confused movements, flailed as it was too disorientated to remember how to defend itself. Weiss noticed how close the appendages were to the ground - her harsh restriction of its movements strained the muscles attached to them. Suddenly, she understood what her idiot of a partner was trying to do. She’ll never admit it to him, but she admired his cleverness. She spawned a trail of Glyphs that ended with a gravity one a few paces behind Nora.

Her light eyes met Jaune’s dark ones. Understanding passed between them.

After a quick run-up, she slid along the path like an Olympic skater, spun perfectly and landed on the blackish-purple platform. A twirl of her glowing rapier reversed the pulling effect of the Glyph, launching her over the Grimm. She spun Myrtenaster’s revolver-cylinder, and it locked on an Ice Dust chamber. The thin blade’s etching glowed pale blue, then white. In a swift swing, ice rained down on the Grimm, pinning its pincers to the ground. She summoned one more gravity Glyph to sling herself back to her fellow Hunters.

“Nice work!” after giving her a thumbs up, he called Nora, “When that stinger comes down, wait ‘til the last minute before dodging!”

The Grimm, now limited to one method of attack, flung its last tool at the cheerleading Mistrali and missed again.

Jaune turned his attention to Ren, “Take out that stinger!”

Not wasting time, Ren fired his pistols as he charged towards the Deathstalker. The moment it dislodged its tail from the stone, he jumped onto it, clung on, and resumed firing. Undeterred by the violent thrashing, Ren hacked lumps off the joint. The group’s rising hopes were quickly shattered when a strong flick of the appendage flung the Mistralian into a wall.

“Ren!”

His valiant efforts weren’t in vain as the golden stinger was dangling by a thread like a baby’s tooth.

Jaune ran a hand through his hair, stepping back by an inch, “Damn, what do we-”

Schnee wasted no time and twirled Myrtenaster in an intricate loop. With a spin of its cylinder, Weiss summoned a sharp ice shard from a glyph. She lunged forward, shooting out the shard, and it promptly severed the stinger from the tail causing it to impale the Grimm.

Nerve recovered, Jaune ran forward as he said, “Time to nail it!”

“Heads up!”

The boy raised Crocea to rest flat on his arm and head. Valkyrie, excited and enraged, jumped onto the shield while sitting on her hammer. Ignoring Jaune’s grunting, she tapped the trigger, and a grenade catapulted her skyward while Jaune flopped to his ass. An open-mouthed smile painted her face as the breeze fiddled with her hair. She couldn’t help but giggle when that tingly feeling grew in her stomach because of gravity returning her to solid ground. Once again, she pulled the trigger and thundered through the air in multiple lively spins. It all culminated with the tremendous bang as Magnhild smashed the stinger right through the Deathstalker’s bone plates.

The creature screamed, but it remained as lively as ever.

Weiss gaped at the sight, “This thing won’t die.”

No one could respond as the shockwave of the blow unhinged the fragile bridge. Like an Earthquake, the Grimm and the Humans stumbled around as the structure unbuckled and sunk into the canyon. Weiss summoned a glyph under her partner and chucked him over the injured monster, while she gracefully formed a pathway made of glyphs. Nora glanced overhead and propelled herself to the other side, then landed on her tush with a jolly “Ouch”.

The bridge finally fell, taking the battered King Deathstalker to the foggy depths below.

“If that didn’t kill it,” the ginger dusted off her clothes, “I don’t know what will.”

Ren stumbled towards them, then peered at the Nevermore battle on the other side, groaned, and collapsed. Loki, alive and well, noted the quietness and wandered out. He noted his Mama’s unconscious companion and nuzzled his head in concern; much to her joy.

“Guys,” Jaune sat up, holding his nose after he fell on his face, “we just destroyed the rest of the bridge.”

The news quieted the group. Even the bear seemed to gulp.

“I think… we might be stuck here.”

Nora pointed at him, “All those who pin the blame on him, say ‘Aye’!”

“Aye,” Schnee raised her hand and snickered.

“Oh, come on!”

* * *

#  **THE MONUMENT**

* * *

Dust infused shotgun shells scorched the soulless eyes of the demon bird. It scouted out for the source and found Yang pumping her shotgun-gauntlets on top of a pillar. The human’s cheeky grin, her emotions conveying cockiness, not an inkling of fear from earlier. 

_‘Come at me, Big Beak!’_

Enraged, the Nevermore altered its course and dived towards her. Lilac eyes brightened as their owner lunged off her platform. Time slowed as the monster drew closer to the Hunter, the former’s maw opens wide and ready to consume the girl.

_‘I hope you’re hungry.’_

Yang landed in the mouth. The unstable ‘ground’ and movements disorientated her a bit, but she quickly recovered and forced the beak to stay open. Even as the mouth pressed on her arm - doing its best to shatter her fragile human bones and swallow her whole - she did not waver. Instead, she fired five flaming rounds down the Nevermore’s throat while shouting:

“BITE. THE. DUST!”

_‘Ha, I’m hilarious.’_ she chuckled as she peeked behind her.

The cliff drew near and the pressure the Grimm put on her arm lightened. She flipped out of the mouth and used her landing strategy.

_‘Glad I could manage it this time.’_

In a tremendous crash, the choked Nevermore slammed into the cliff-face before tumbling down in a large, feathered heap. 

Ruben, Pyrrha and Blake - guns raised - stood on elevated positions in the destroyed monument. As Yang dashed towards them, they kept their sights trained on the Grimm’s tail.

The youngest commanded them to be “steady” and “wait for [his] signal”.

The Grimm coughed out the residue and ruffled its neck to shake off the burning pain in its throat. Then the colourful group a few metres ahead caught its attention (especially that yellowed-haired one). Releasing a screech, it slowly rose off the ground.

“Fire!” Ruben yelled.

The troupe shot Ice Dust rounds at the Grimm’s heavy tail. Thanks to the excess Magma Dust in their muzzles, the Ice exploded upon impact and pinned the black feathers to the ground.

Pyrrha swallowed her anxiety and ran towards the cliff before facing the group. She crouched to mid-height with Akoúo raised at an angle.

_This will hurt.’_ She whined before pausing, _‘Then again, I could get eaten so better this than that.’_

Psyched _enough_ , her emerald eyes glanced at the thrashing Nevermore before snapping away. Another noise escaped her, and she prayed to Mysti to let her partner’s insane plan work.

Back at the temple remains, Gambol Shroud flew towards Yang before she caught it and buried the blade into the ancient stone. She ran over to support Blake should his strength fail him. Excited and clueless to everyone’s fears, Ruben launched himself into the makeshift slingshot. He grasped the centre of the ribbon and stretched the ribbon to its limits before pressing his feet against a jagged rock for leverage. Yang moved ahead of her partner to hold the ribbon when Blake started to slide on the concrete.

But once the sling was stable, Nightshade called out in a strained voice: “ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?!”

"NO, BUT THANKS FOR ASKING!”

The blonde grunted, “At least he’s honest.”

With Crescent Rose +B secured behind him; Ruben raised one leg. By this point, the imaginary rock band had overwhelmed the orchestra. Due to all the excitement and planning, he almost missed the contributions of a brand new instrument.

A voice. Not just a choir but a single, human voice.

**_‘There's no knight in shining armour who will wake me from this spell!’_ **

Now, his combat and emotions had been given new form and meaning beyond the tunes of a choir. The intense situation didn’t spare him time to pay attention to the meaning of the lyrics; his heart would ache otherwise. 

****

**_‘I know you didn't plan this!’_ **

The ice began to crack, and the group didn’t want to risk the Grimm escaping.

**_‘You tried to do what's right!’_ **

Ruben leaned entirely on the slingshot. The guitar sped the pitch, the meaning and feeling of the song rising in intensity.

“NOW!”

Simultaneously, Rose removed his other foot, fired his rifle, while Yang and Blake yank the ribbon forward for more speed.

**_'But in the middle of the madness...'_ **

Like a silver bullet, the wolf Faunus flew towards Pyrrha. He flipped mid-flight so that his feet would land on her shield. In a slick jump, the Mistralian launched the Faunus off Akoúo while Rose fired Crescent Rose for an extra boost. The ground beneath her cracked and shuddered under their combined power as the ripples shuddered through her bones. Meanwhile, Ruben soared towards the pinned Nevermore, his cherry-black locks a wild flurrying mess as the rapid winds caressed it. As he drew near, he clicked the conversion button on his sword, Crescent Rose transforming into her Full Bloom form. He fired more rounds to maintain his speed before stabbing the scythe’s blade into the Grimm’s neck. The momentum dragged the beast back while Ruben grunted due to the harsh landing.

_'Gods, this thing is heavy!’_ Despite the strength of her recoil, Crescent Rose couldn’t boost Ruben up the cliff face – not with his new passenger. The squirms of the Nevermore caused his feet to slide down, _‘No, no, no no!’_

**_‘I'm the one...’_ **

Pyrrha glanced back at Yang and Blake. They were completely invested in the Faunus' struggle.

_‘They shouldn’t be able to see me.’_ With a determined look, she raised her hand, _‘Time to help.’_

A dark glow surrounded her hand as she honed on the metal on Ruben’s clothes, particularly his shoes. After closing her eyes, she noted minimal metallic properties within the cliff (ores most likely), just close enough to the surface. She reversed the polarity of both Ruben’s boots and the cliff, magnetically charging them towards each other.

_**'Left to win this fight!'** _

Ruben swiftly found his footing. His eyes were drawn to the dark aura around his boots, but the Grimm’s shaking took his priority. The guitar began a riff, rising to a magnificent crescendo. In unison, Ruben began his slow slog up the cliff. Yang's shouts of support lead to his stumbles becoming walking. Soon he was running. The riff getting faster, his legs burning, the Grimm screeching.

Then it all stopped.

With a deep breath, he pumped the bolt and pressed the trigger.

_**'Red Like Roses!'** _

Crescent Rose fired a round, then three, then five – dragging the Grimm up the cliff. Both the singer and the music swelled with overwhelming passion, the beat timing the shots and footfalls perfectly.

_**'Fills my head with dreams and finds me...'** _

Grunts become growls then screams of fury, excitement and agony as his toned arms burned and ached. Petals littered behind him as he used his semblance for more propulsion. Deeper and deeper the scythe blade went into the plush neck of the beast as Rose ran faster and faster.

**_‘Always closer…’_ **

The edge of the cliff drew near.

With a final shout, Ruben jumped and fired one last round. A sickening sound of flesh and bone being ripped through resonated behind him.

**_‘To the emptiness and sadness that has come to take the place of you!_ **

Slow and very dead, the decapitated body of the monster cascaded down the cliffside, while Ruben landed next to its massive head. Throughout the valley, quietness reigned. No noise save for the breeze flowing by and the fluttering of his cape. Even within his mind, it was quiet.

_'So that's what it sounds like.'_ his ears twitched around, getting used to the lack of audio, _'It's kinda nice.'_

Just this once, Ruben willed himself to remain calm and revel in the loud wonder that was silence.

* * *

Meanwhile, the bumblebee duo joined Pyrrha at the base of the cliff, looking up at the scythe wielder. Yang sighed as she slipped off her glasses. She turned to Blake, staring him in the eye, and stuck a hand for him to shake.

“Nice to meet you, partner, I’m Yang.”

Blake squinted at her, “Oh, so I’ve proved myself worthy then?”

“Eh,” Yang shrugged, “More or less.”

Releasing a chuckle, he shook her hand, “Nice to meet you, Yang, I’m Blake.”

* * *

#  **VALE: EMERALD FOREST**

# Jade Cliffs

* * *

Glynda gaped at the screen, frozen in her shock. She barely registered Ozpin leaning over to pick up the money while laughing at her.

“Knock your socks off did he, Glynda?”

Her brows furrowed as she turned to him, jaw still hanging open.

“I do wonder what I should spend this on,” he dramatically tapped his chin, “Any ideas?”

She stared at her blank screen, “I…”

“More hot chocolate it is! What a marvellous notion, my dear!”

Ozpin stood up, flourished his cane and moved his lanky legs back towards the school.

“Come along, Goodwitch - the ceremony starts soon and we have new students to welcome.” He turned back, a cheeky grin on his face, “Including one Jaune Arc. Try to keep your sock on this time, eh?”

She finally regained her composure, glaring at his back while seething at his laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't I tell you that Loki was Best Boi? Also, I find it hilarious that Ruben's ability to hear music has evolved to him listening to the show's soundtrack. Boy can tell what's wrong before it happens - could be useful later.
> 
> Quick question: Should I change the formating with the chapters? In case the huge spaces between paragraphs aren't appealing to you guys. It looks fine on Word, but when I copy and paste it, it looks bloated. At the same, the formatting on the computer version of AO3 makes the paragraphs look really cluttered. I don't know, I'll post the next chapter with different spacing for the paragraphs and see how you feel about it.
> 
> The next chapter is partly done and certainly won't take nearly 2 months to finish. Fight scenes are hard, man!

**Author's Note:**

> All original characters belong to me. Rooster Teeth/Monty Oum own all the others. This is a non-profit work.


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